I love reading about how people's planners help them in their lives.
I have to admit I'm addicted to Uncalendar's What Customers Say section. I love reading people's enthusiasm about the planners, and every now and then somebody goes into a little bit of detail about how they use their planner or how the Uncalendar has helped them in their life.
My Filofax Love Posts list is full of examples of how people's Filofax helps them in their life.
What about you? Does your planner help you set goals, manage a busy family, control your finances, track your health and fitness, manage a heavy workload, or keep you on target for graduation?
Please post a comment!
I love my Filofaxes! Currently I use one each for work/PhD, scrapbooking, travel and inspiration. And I have many more but these are what I actually use. Each is very personal as I can set it up exactly how I want it.
ReplyDeleteI could not live without my Filofax - ok I could but I would be a complete mess! My Filofax not only has all my appointments, contacts, information such as useful web addresses, notes and so forth. It also carries all my inspirational quotes, wish lists, notes my daughter has written to me, photographs that make me smile, cards of favourite restaurants and other things that make my Filofax a holder of all things I love! It's a great way to create a focus for something. For example I have also written a life plan - goals I want to achieve. Of course I also have my time management system that I swear by! So my Filofax keeps me connected, organised, on time, focused and happy! x
ReplyDeleteI have a filofax and I love it so much. I keep track of assignments, to-do lists, how I'm feeling that day (if I have a headache or what not), and workouts. I think it's nice to be able to just see what I've accomplished. Nothing it better than checking something off or having a visible list of everything that I've done.
ReplyDeletemy planner (filofax) has the superhuman ability to remember things that my tiny human mind can't. i did not quite grasp this idea until last week. i was looking through entries from last month for an idea i had scribbled down. i was looking for a memory that my brain couldn't remember.
ReplyDeletemy filofax is the keeper of memories that my brain can not access.
I use a Franklin Covey planner and it manages my entire life: Agenda, goals, reminders, deadlines/bills, task list and more recently as a quick diary, etc. I also use my GCal on my iPhone but I love paper and need to physically write something down or I won't remember. Plus it's nice to go back and look :)
ReplyDeleteI speak three languages and I'm learning two more languages so it helps me keep track of what I am planning on studying that week and helps me immerse myself in languages (kind of like the planner version of Switzerland: small but full of culture). I work a lot but when I wasn't, I also used my Franklin Covey for meal/shopping planning and fitness tracker (though i stink at numbers so I use my iPhone for fitness/diet tracking now)
I also have a travel planner I use when I travel (duh). It's a standard travel wallet but I put a notepad that has the days of the week on it so I can leave my planner at home if I it's for vacation. For longer vacation trips I use that and a small pocket monthly calendar.
justenoughsalt - I love that last line you wrote. It went on my favorite filofax quotes list.
ReplyDeleteI use my planner (Filofax malden) to keep track of my appointments and to-dos, but also a food diary and fitness tracker and the like. I also have other binder for specific uses, though I don't use them on a daily basis, so can't be considered my daily planner.
I have two Filofax personals, one a vintage ostrich and one in lizard. Right now the lizard is used for my shopping lists and menu planning and lives in the kitchen drawer. The well-worn/distressed vintage ostrich is kept close at hand and travels with me wherever I am ... even at home it goes from room to room with me. I keep almost everything in there except my work out journal (that's a massively thick pocket-sized moleskin-type book from PaperChase) and my food log, which is kept on line at Calorie Count. I'd like to keep the workout log in the Filo, too, but then there is just something about seeing this thick book knowing that it is a record of all my hard work, starting from December 2005 (and with room for several more years yet. It truly is really thick, but I am unsure how many pages) But I can't live without my Filofax any more than the rest of you. It has my life in it...
ReplyDeleteAs I embark on my Filofax journey, I am using it as I used my bound notebooks/planners and other ringed planners. (My Malden just came in the mail today.) Reading everyone's great comments here and on Philofaxy, I'm getting many good ideas for MORE Filofaxes!
ReplyDeleteFor now, I use it as a calendar/planner with to-dos, note sections on various subjects, and places to put other bits and scraps of paper.
One thing I've realized FF vs. bound book, is how much easier it is to find things I've written as notes. Before I'd have to flip through pages and pages of my Moleskine notebook to find something I wrote 15 days ago. Now, I just flip to the appropriate tab et voila!
It's interesting to see that all of these comments are about ringed planners, the majority filofax! I guess this shows how much more useful and flexible they can be in real life compared to bound planners!
ReplyDeleteI use mine (my new personal crimson Malden :D) for planning my day-to-day activities, appointments, to-dos etc; shopping lists; information lists; plans for the future... Basically it's my brain in a book! I couldn't live without it! I'm planning on putting fact-sheets in it for my MA too... then it will be truly indispensable!
It is very telling that people have such a strong attachment to their Filofaxes! What is wrong with me that I can't seem to make a Filofax work for me as my planner??
ReplyDeleteAlright then all you Filofax lovers, comment again here with the format you use as your planner/ dairy. Week on 2 pages? Daily? Filofax inserts or a different brand?
Maybe if I see which formats you are all using right here together, I can figure out something that might work for me.
Is it crazy that I'm using 4 formats?! Well, it's all changing as I update it and improve it, but here's what I'll end up with when the next uni year starts in September: Month on 2 pages (rest of 2011 and 2012) for deadlines as a quick overview; week on 2 pages for future planning, up to October 2012 when my MA finishes; day to a page during term-time for detailed planning, notes, to-dos (I have WHSmith day to a page sheets now which I'll use up to the end of 2011, but in 2012 I'll just use normal lined paper because some days I don't use them at all and it's a waste, so I'll just use them on the days I need them); and a weekly vertical columned format I make on my computer so I can see my lectures, meetings, appointments and shifts at a glance, and most importantly, the time in between them. Phew!! No wonder my filo is bulging!!
ReplyDeleteYay for Filofax! I use my Malden as my external brain- see justenoughsalt's response! I seriously don't know what I would do (or remember) without it.
ReplyDeleteI'm using Filofax year planner, Day Timer tabbed month on two pages, and Filofax dailies. I just revamped this system, and it seems to be working well! I needed to balance my utter requirement of a broad overview, while maintaining enough daily space and this seems to be doing it :)
I am using a personal Malden with the monthly layout and 2 pages per day inserts from Franklin Covey. I really like their layout, and the months are tabbed, which is great. The FC inserts are a little wider than Filofax binders, however. So I trim them down and re-punch them. It's a little extra work, but I'm willing to do it in order to get the inserts I need and want.
ReplyDeleteMy format that I used is the week on two pages Filofax inserts. I like seeing my week at one glance!
ReplyDeleteI use an entire year of two page per month for advance planning and reminders, and two months of one day per page for daily planning. I use the time designation to list my primary goals/tasks for the day plus "appointments", which I circle. I plan linearly in time blocks. The times are not strictly adhered to depending on unforseen events. It's harder to over plan and become unfocused when you plan with time blocks. I also use a note page that lists my tasks and aspirations for the week (Filofax pocket set up).
ReplyDeleteWhen I use a personal or compact/slimline I
prefer a week at a glance timed vertical or horizontal in place of the day per page.
If I'm feeling overwhelmed I might brainstorm in my moleskine or some loose paper to freely map things out before I do my daily planning which I might fold into my planner but usually just neatly list on my planning page afterwards. I try not to give myself enough planning space to hang myself and become a slave to my planner. A notebook is always at hand and I keep it under/next to my planner. It's really very simple and very functional.
I'm curious, Laurie, if you've ever done a post about Filofax monogamy? i.e. do you use only FF inserts or do you add in others like DT and FC? When I got my Malden this week and had to go through my DT binder and decide what was moving into the Malden I laughed at myself for having such a mix of inserts (DT, FC and DayRunner and non-name sheets). Now it's all just FF.
ReplyDeleteI love "Poco Profile" inserts in my red Malden! Week to 2 pages works for me! Made in Australia, they have all Aus public holidays, school terms, events etc if any Aussies out there are interested. Filofax inserts I find not so relevant to me!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE "Poco Profile" inserts in my Crimson Maldon personal size. These are made in Australia and have all public hols, school terms, special events all marked on there. Just thought I'd let you know in case any Aussies out there were looking for inserts that are a little more relevant!
ReplyDelete