I'm back...with a new Filofax!

Well.  Hello everyone!

My last post was 27 March 2014...WOW!  It's been a while!  I must admit, it took me quite a bit of time to log in to my blog but I managed it in the end.  Not without a little bit of a battle though!

So...what prompted me to come back?  Well... a couple of things really.

1. My new Filofax set-up
2. My impulsive decision to hop on to the Philofaxy meet-up Skype call yesterday!

So while I have been using a Filofax of some sort since my last post (including a small dabble with a Bullet Journal...), I have recently fallen in love with it all over again.  At the end of April 2020, I was put on furlough leave from work due to the COVID-19/Coronavirus situation.  All of a sudden, I didn't have ANY appointments, commitments, deadlines...it was very strange.  I found myself floundering and wondering what the heck to do with my time.  So, outside of homeschooling my kiddo, I decided to start putting my time into working on myself, my goals, confidence, organisation etc.

I decided to move into my A5 pink Chameleon with a page-a-day diary.  I thought I'd move into this size so that I'd have the ability to easily make my own inserts, but also I'd have room to make more notes about the things that I've DONE, not just my plans.

Very quickly, my binder became really full, to the point that I was finding it difficult to fasten.  So I bought a new one... an A5 Domino Luxe in Teal, bought for the princely sum of £25.  AND I LOVE IT!  The colour is just gorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgeous.  It's very pliable and can be stuffed to the gills with all sorts of things.

I've been making my own inserts and laminates, and using it to propel my personal development through this tough time.  More posts of the contents to follow in due course

As for the Philofaxy call...well...I just saw that one was happening on the Facebook page and thought I'd hop on, but I was doing other things at the time and knew I'd need to stop and start making the tea during the middle so I decided to mute myself and hide my video.  I was listening in to the discussion and wasn't intending to interrupt, but Steve mentioned a couple of times that there was someone logged in but not revealing themselves.  One of the things I've been working on just recently is 'perfectionism', so, as it wasn't the perfect time for me to join the call, I did it anyway and embraced the opportunity!

We had a nice catch-up and I reckon I'll join the call again!

I shall leave you with a picture of my new Filofax and a promise that I'll post again sometime soon regarding my set-up.  I'm looking forward to getting back into the world of Filofax and Philofaxy!

Bye for now!

One life one Filofax, or more???

Hi guys!

Well, the title says it all. Are you in the 'one life one Filofax' camp, or do you use different Filofaxes for home/work/other?

I am firmly in the 'one life one Filofax' camp. I have various different commitments I need to keep track of so if I had different Filofaxes all on the go at the same time, things would get missed.  Here's what I keep track of in just my personal-sized diary (slimline binder) which is a week on one page with notes and a week's worth of DPP:

1. Work hours (they change during school holidays).
2. Freelance jobs.
3. General social commitments.
4. Band rehearsals.
5. Band concerts.
6. Cricket matches and admin deadlines (I'm Secretary for hubby's cricket club).
7. Daughter's commitments.
8. Hubby's commitments.
9. School holidays.
10. Dates I'm on call.
11. General reminders & stuff to do.
12. Birthdays.
13. Important family deadlines.
14. Important work deadlines & meetings that would affect general scheduling.

I also use my own DIY templates to keep track of various other things, but you can see details of my full setup here.

For work, I use an A4 binder and a month-on-one-page diary printed off the internet here, but most of what I do doesn't require me to remind myself of anything. I have odd deadlines and meetings but generally, my work just flows easily without much organisation required, although I do use Outlook to follow-up emails and for the calendar function.

As far as housework chores are concerned, I use a small whiteboard in the dining room to remind me of what needs to be done. This means that my hubby can see it and help me!!!  (Yeah right . . .)

For time-specific reminders, I'll use my Filofax but also put a reminder on my phone to alert me audibly at the necessary time. I put to dos on the 'notes' page of my WPP+N diary and then I plan my whole day out on a daily page from my DPP diary (I keep a about a week's worth in my slimline).

I've recently bought my first A5 (ssssssshhhhhhhhhhhh...keep that to yourself...) and I'm currently in the process of making a list of things I can use it for.  There won't be a diary in it though...although I might use the one that came with it as a journal/record of sorts.

So, are you in the 'one life one Filofax' camp, or do you juggle multiple Filofaxes? How do you make sure that nothing gets missed? Do you sync them every day or once a week? Do you use a mobile phone or other form of technology as well?

And have you got any ideas about how I can use my new A5???

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CiAK Duo diary/planner review

Hello all!


I'd had my eye on this diary for a while but it was just tooooo expensive.  At the time I was looking at it, it was £17.99 plus P&P, which was an awful lot of money for a diary that, let's be honest, I'd probably use for a very short while and then revert back to my Filofax . . .


So when it came up in the sale a couple of months ago at £6.99, I couldn't resist.  I chose the 70s Pink & Acid Green pocket sized version and got it through eBay from The Journal Shop here.  (There are other colours and sizes available.)  I had to see it in the flesh for myself!  I've never seen a diary like this one before and I thought the concept was really intriguing.


Here we go . . .

Front cover of the diary

Personal details page

Year planners for 2012 and 2013

Monthly planners

Time zones

International dialling codes

Weights & measures

International sizes & world temperatures

2012 holidays

Diary page

Centre pocket for bits & bobs

Then flip the whole thing over and . . .

128 pages of lined note paper!

Basically, the first half of this diary is just that - a diary.  The centre houses the pocket for bits and bobs, then you flip the whole thing over and the remainder of the diary is a notebook with 128 lined pages.


It's a lovely soft leather and the paper is pH neutral and acid/chlorine free.  Each section of the book has a page marker ribbon that corresponds to the colour of the front of the section - so the diary section cover is pink and has a pink ribbon, while the notes section cover is green and has a green ribbon.  It also has an elastic to bind the whole thing together.


The diary pages are lined and are split into two halves - the first for 9am until 12 and the second from 2pm until 5pm.  Saturday and Sunday have equal amount of space (hurrah!) and there is also a 'notes' box after Sunday, which contains the familiar monthly dates view and week number.


One of the reviews I've read for this diary was quite a negative one, simply because the date in the top right hand corner isn't in English, so when you're flicking through to find a date, it's really difficult to do.  Whilst I do agree with this to a certain extent, this is easily fixable.  The next day down (Saturday rather than Friday) is in English, so when you're flicking through, all you have to do is look down a day.  Easy!


Overall, a compact diary that actually has quite a lot of space for writing in it.  In my opinion, the only things that need to be remedied are the top right hand date should be in English and it needs a pen loop, although you can just buy one here for about £4.50 to stick on if you like.


But what shall I use it for???  I could use it for scheduling my blog posts and writing notes and ideas for posts I suppose.  Watch this space!










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Letts Academic Festival A6 diary/planner

Hello all!

Today I have decided to review the only planner I have ever come across that has been close to putting my Filofax into retirement: the Letts Academic Festival A6 diary.  You can buy the current 2012-2013 version here.

Despite the fact that I’m not a student (but my daughter is so I do have school holidays to make a note of), this really is a little beauty.  In my opinion, the best features are:

1. Lovely bright colour.
2. Elastic closure.
3. Page ruler marker.
4. Pen loop (with gel pen included).
5. Spiral bound so lays flat.
6. A6 size (15cm X 11.5cm - also comes in A5 though).
7. Pull-out year planner.
8. Plastic pocket to store bits and bobs.
9. A brilliant layout.  Read on . . .

The layout is a week on two pages plus a box for notes after Sunday.  All eight boxes have equal space (hallelujah!) and the weekdays are divided up by: Time, Activity, Location and Reminders.  So you can put your appointments on the left and reminders on the right.  The Notes box (with a small calendar of the month in it) can be used to mark down things to do for that particular week.


Here come the pictures . . .

Check out that ugly mark where I peeled the label off!  Yuk!

Fold-out year planner (2011/2012 on the reverse)

Plastic pocket for 'bits 'n bobs'

As well as a brilliant layout, it also has the following features:

1. Two year calendar.
2. Conversion tables & factors.
3. Sunrise & sunset.
4. Religious festivals.
5. Notable dates.
6. Useful contacts.
7. Travel information.
8. National information.
9. London attractions.
10. Notes.
11. Addresses.
12. Deadlines & exams.
13. Timetables.

This year, the cover is slightly different.  I don’t like it quite as much but I’m more bothered about the other features than this particular aspect.

The only thing I don’t like about this planner is that Letts insisted on putting a great big ugly sticker on the front cover that took some of the colour off when I peeled it off (very carefully I might add).  I hate these stickers so much!!!

This is a great diary with some brilliant features.  I also love it because it’s so small and light, but big enough.  What do you think?


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