If you are happy with the way you are currently using your Filofax, stop reading. The worst thing you can do is tinker unnecessarily with a system that works well. Still reading? OK then. This post will seek to briefly answer the question of how to use a Filofax. It will not address the issue of why to use a Filofax, nor whether to use a Filofax. I'm assuming you have worked through these questions yourself. So, how should you use it? the real - but potentially unhelpful - answer is, 'However you like.' What follows is just one possible answer. It is based on my experience of what works (for me) and what doesn't (again, for me), filtered through the sieve of my own likes and annoyances. I'll try to keep it snappy; we're all busy people. The rules 1. Put all other notebooks, planners and pads out of reach. While you are getting your Filofax up and running (say, the first couple of weeks you spend using it) you don't want the distraction of handling multiple systems. 2. Write in your diary every appointment you need to remember, including other people's insofar as they affect you. For instance, is your partner going out for the evening one day next week? That needs to be in your diary too if it means you will have to be at home providing childcare. 3. Every day, read today's diary and scan about a week ahead. Look for events that have been cancelled or are no longer relevant. Delete them. Think about any events you might need to add. Add them. 4. Maintain a separate (i.e. separate from the diary) list if you want to use your Filofax to manage tasks. The only time a task should be in your diary is if it needs to be done on a particular day. If it is just a matter of having to be done by a particular day, it belongs not in the diary but in the task list, where you should also note the deadline date. You can do this with standard Filofax task pages, but it's easier with Turbo Task pages. 5. Scan your task list at least daily for items you can or must do and mark complete. 6. Carry your Filofax with you everywhere. This is really important. 7. Whenever you set or accept an appointment or identify a task, write it down in the appropriate section straight away. Don't try to remember it to write in later. Don't write it on a scrap of paper to transfer later. Write it in the correct place in your Filofax right now. No excuses. 8. Have a notes section with plenty of blank paper. Write down anything you need to remember that isn't a diary or task entry. You can use plain paper or lined, grid, dot grid or a selection. The paper can be different colours if you like. If you must, you can decorate it. 9. Before you agree to an appointment, check your diary. You need to be able to trust what you see written there, hence the earlier warnings about writing things in right away. 10. As soon as you complete a task, mark it as complete in your tasks section and if you have time choose another to get started on. 11. These three sections - diary, tasks and notes - are the heart of your Filofax. If you want you can have other sections too, say for addresses, to track your finances or to hold long term reference information. 12. Do not stuff your Filofax with pages or accessories you will not use every day. Your system has rings. You can add things and remove them whenever you like. Have a photo or two in there if you like, by all means, but it is a personal organiser, not a scrapbook. Anything that doesn't help organise you should not be in it. 13. Use dividers to help you get to different sections quickly. Use sticky tabs to categorise sub-sections. This might be useful if you decide to keep multiple lask lists (e.g. home and office.) Have some sort of 'today' marker in your diary. 14. Keep a pen or pencil in the pen loop. Choose one that fits the loop and that will not fall out. Don't feel that you need to use that particular instrument every time you write in your Filofax. If you carry a pen or two in your pocket or bag, use those. But keeping one pen/pencil in the loop means you will never be caught without something to write with. It's a fallback. 15. Keep doing all the above. Don't lapse. Keep forcing yourself until it becomes habitual. Again, no excuses. Now what? You can, of course, download and print most of the pages you'll need from this site. Diary inserts are here. Other inserts are here. They are free to download and free for your personal use. So there it is. That is how to use a Filofax. Unless you want to use it differently. It's up to you. You can do what you want; I'm not your mother.
I have been a long-time fan of Filofaxes. I think I got my first one when I was in my early twenties. Lately, I have been going back and forth between having a Google Calendar to using a Filofax. Since becoming pregnant, I've been experiencing pregnancy brain (a slight decrease...
Today I’d like to give you guys a tour of my main planner, my Personal Filofax Malden. As I mentioned in my previous post, this was my own little Christmas gift to myself – and so far, I’m lo…
My boss’s Filofax, now about 25 years old and, as always, very well stuffed!
Taking the time to set up a new ring binder organizer, such as a Filofax, is key for keeping track of appointments, accomplishing daily tasks, setting goals, making monthly budgets, and more.
Wonderfully stuffed! #filofax #malden #personal #filofaxlove #filofaxaddiction
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She's slowly getting there. Over the past months, I've been working on my ring binder setup, and organizing things to my l...
Explore guccio@文房具社's 3553 photos on Flickr!
Seven of the nine vintage Winchester model filofaxes in my collection, three of them in the large 1'1/4 inch ring size. Made from English calf leather, these have always been my favourite model in the collection. For me, the Winchester is the quintessential classic filofax.
Here are some photos of my Filofax personal sized Burlington in use. I have been handling it a lot and the light scuffs have largely disappeared. Probably due to the oils from my hands and actually…
I bought this Filofax Original A5 Binder more than 2 years ago, and it's still my favorite organization/daily planning tool. Check out my go-to inserts and links to shop the system for yourself!
Explore ideabook.se's 1533 photos on Flickr!
I thought it was about time for an updated filofax post, as my last one was ages ago, and I was using my little pink Opal. After my handbag post, I had a couple of comments about my filofax, and I …
A little Nook of Mixed Media, Art journals, Art, Whimsy, writing, painting, photography, letting art and life collide.
It's three weeks of me being back to work after a year of maternity leave - need I say more?! :-) I planned weeks ago to make this blogpost, and even promised to some of you to do it, so... let's go to work without any further delay! Just to remind you where we stayed at last time: there was a christmas present which shook my ground, and it came in the shape of an Apple Green Personal Piccadilly. Can you imagine what are the odds that someone who knows absolutely nothing about Filofaxes (apart from seeing me clearly having trouble with my self-control around them) gives you a brand new Piccadilly in 2011 (I gather they were sold between 1998 - 2001)?! Only one person in the world is capable of that. My mum. :-) I have read about the Piccadilly before and frankly couldn't imagine its addictive powers. Well, now I have tested them myself and to put it short and simply: after the Malden and the Amazona and many binders in between as well, this one is without a doubt my favourite. I can't exactly tell you why. It's hidden somewhere in the mixture of the pockets layout, its vibrant colour and great soft padded surface, I guess. It's like coming home to a soft, worn, comfortable couch. There's just the chemistry that wasn't there with the previous ones! :-) Hm, but let the pictures do the talking! It lays perfectly flat out of the box and its brilliant colour was just calling for a brand new decoration... you could see me searching through decorative paper like never before and then actually making new dividers for it - now that must be love! :-) I couldn't imagine any other pen to go with it than the trusty old Bic Orange, I think it just completes the uber comfortable look and feel of the organiser! The other part of this re-decoration was my new DIY post-it accessory. The set up didn't change much though, as it was working great for me as it already was: Diary, Me (with various Lists that are marked with small top tabs each, Journal and my Finance section with the punched envelope for receipts and odd banknotes that I hide from myself), Info (Adresses, Bus Schedules, Passwords, Doctor's numbers ect.) and my little one's tab with all her important info. The only new tab was given to my Projects... now that the work began again, haha... I hope you liked it so far, and now off to the second today's topic, the to-dos system, which is my new improvement in the use of my Filofax. I always use week on two pages; not just because I have countless numbers of them, arriving with each new Filofax, but also because I find them as the best compromise between the available space and still bearable bulk of the organiser. The nature of my work is quite predictable appointment-wise, so I use the daily space mostly for my to-dos. I use different colour pens, but solely to pretty things up, I colour-code my writing only occasionally, I don't have the time or the nerve to pick the appropriate colour when on the go! Therefore I use another coding method to orientate myself quickly: I divide a day's space mentally into 4 quarters, and the quarters mean: left upper one = priority stuff, usually work or doctor's related left lower one = to-dos related to household and family right upper one = my pleasure activities, yay, I often write here the type of tea that I drink that day (very important journalling info, lol!) and right lower one = events and things of that day that I want to remember, i.e. my baby's milestones... or simply the arrival of my new Filofax Compact - ooops, but that's another post! ;-) While I have my to-dos on day's space, it is easy to check them up later; but then there are some to-dos and reminders that I want to keep in sight every time and I had to invent a hack for it. The basic idea was to write them on a post-it and move them from week to week, but I didn't like the post-it covering my days, so finally I came up with the solution: I put a transparent flyleaf in between the week's sheets and used it as a dashboard for my post-its. Ray with his incredible inventions was most helpful here, giving me the idea of diy transparent flyleaves.So this is how my dashboard looks like in action: Hopefully, any of this will be useful to you, too... and please, do share any comments and ideas!!! So here I am Filofax-wise so far; loving the binder and satisfied with the system. But. But! Of course there has to be a "but" now. And it has to do with both the binder and the system. Firstly, as I said, I love this Piccadilly like no other model so far and am already on the quest of buying all the existent Piccadillys in the world to make sure I never again remain without one. The problem with this current one is because it gets scratched sooooooo easily! After only a month and a half, the marks of use are clearly seen, and as my little one is especially drawn to it (now at least one gene of mine she's gotten...), its future is quite predictable. I guess it has to do with the binder's age and maybe dryness that, ironically, obviously even Nivea cannot fix completely. The other problem that surfaces constantly is the thickness of the binder. I love the idea of one life - one binder, but mine is as thick as a telephone book now! And since I don't use it just at home as I used to, lugging it around along with other necessities is quite a work to do. Therefore I have a few open challenges again: 1. I'll probably put my Piccadilly to rest for a while now, so I don't ruin it too much too soon. Hardly, because I cannot imagine any other binder replacing it, but it'll be necessary, I guess. But on the other hand, I did have the idea to change the binder with the change of seasons last year, so the new challenge would be - which binder to use for the nearing spring? :-) 2. I am considering a compact size binder, especially with the forecasts of the new Filofax range being a bit more compact - oriented. But will it really suit me? Ahhh, the never ending adrenalin in the land of Filofax... ;-)
Apart from my family and cats, here's my whole life. The package is with me wherever I go even though it weighs probably some 3 kilos! :)
My blog: filofaxlove.wordpress.com/
Here are some more photographs of the ancient binder belonging to my boss, the CEO of the company for which I work. This organiser is battered, stuffed, well-used, and he is never without it. He di…
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