Hi guys!! Long time no see!!
I've not posted for 3 months, I'm sorry about that!
In September I was busy looking for a job, and then in October I started a full-time job!! So for the past 2 months (although it feels longer), I've been working 40 hours a week and travelling 2 hours a day, then I've been very tired after work, so I haven't had the time or energy to blog!
At the end of September I went to the Philofaxy meet-up in London! I won't write a full blog post about it, and I didn't take enough photos, but it was amazing!!!
It was lovely to meet the people I hadn't met before, especially Mella and Chrissie, who I shared a hotel room with, and also seeing others again, like Debbie (who we also shared a hotel room with) and of course Steve! The Friday was amazing, as we had lunch together, shared Gillios around the table (I didn't let myself touch any of them until I'd washed my hands after lunch!), then popped to the JP Books shop to look at Midori Traveler's Notebooks and other Japanese things before making our way to the station for our evening adventure! There we met all of the others, and we chatted until everyone got there and Steve bought tickets for our visit to Filofax HQ at Burgess Hill!!
It was amazing there- the staff were brilliant and passionate about their products!! There was a table of vintage Filofaxes which were absolutely incredible to see in person (and I was trying to think of ways to smuggle them out...), and a presentation about the past, present and the future of the brand, and a Q and A session. Then we mingled, inspecting a wall of current-range Filofaxes, spoke to the staff, answering their questions and showing off our expertise!! Unfortunately we didn't get to see any of the new Filofaxes for next year, but we did see the options being considered for the patterns for the non-leather Filofaxes for the future!
On Saturday, we went to a lovely French cafe for some amazing pastries and gorgeous hot chocolate drink (think melted chocolate!!) for breakfast, then made our way to the huge Paperchase on Tottenham Court Road! I was very good, and didn't buy much- but I could have moved in quite happily!! Then we made our way to Vapianos for lunch, where we got to see most people from the night before, and some others too, and had a nice session of sharing Filofaxes and eating Italian food!! Then we went shopping, including making our way back to Paperchase!! Unfortunately people had to start making their way back to train stations and airports, but it was an amazing weekend and I would love to do it again soon!!!
As you probably know, over the past year I've been chopping and changing between planners, and that's still been happening over the past few months!
However, over the past couple of months I've been happily using my Midori Traveler's Notebook for my calendar diary/agenda/planner. (Video from October here) I love this thing for lots of reasons, but using it as my calendar diary (by which I mean my WO2P diary calendar, not a journal diary), I really love it because I prefer bound diaries rather than the loose-leaf diary pages in my Filofaxes because I wouldn't archive them properly and I'd lose them. Also because I'm not worried about taking my Midori out and about with me like I am with my Filofaxes, if it gets some scratches on it, it just adds to the character, and there's no rings to damage!
However, I'm going to be tweaking my system a bit over the next couple of weeks. I'm trying to perfect my planner system before 2014, so this is my challenge for December. And yes, I'll be going back to a Filofax again! BUT I'll also be using my Midori...
Although I love my Midori TN, it doesn't work perfectly for everything for me. As my only planner, I have my WO2P calendar diary, organisation lists, and notes. However, I can't fit everything I need in it, and so I need to spread out into other planners. Also, I don't really like having so many serious things in my Midori- my diary with serious appointments, my organisation lists with serious to-dos, and my notes which aren't very fun either- all of these serious things, shouting at me to "Do this! Do that!" aren't fun, and are making me not want to open my Midori! And in the past, I've planned better and managed my life better when I use both an A5 Filofax for planning in conjunction with my Midori.
So my plan is this: I'm going to continue using my Midori TN as my calendar diary, which I love, and I'm going to put my current organisation lists (which have been in a separate notebook, but I'll move them to save space) onto a monthly dashboard spread in here. My diary in here will be my everything- I will put all of my appointments, to-dos, plans and everything in here, I won't have one in my Filofax or anywhere else, because I don't want to get confused or forget an appointment. After this insert, I'll have the space for 2 more notebook inserts, which will be fun and creative sections- things that make me want to open and use my Midori! I think I'll have one notebook for creative writing- poetry and short stories, and I may have another creative notebook (I'd like to sketch or paint, but I'm not good at it), or more probably a notebook insert for random notes, ideas, lists and other things. My Midori will go everywhere with me, around the house, to work, shopping, etc etc!
Then, I'll have my A5 Filofax, probably my Aqua Malden or Espresso Siena, switching between them! This will be my main planning place, having the things that won't fit in my Midori- it will have all of my planning lists (except my 'current' lists, e.g. shopping list, waiting for list, keep in mind list, etc etc, which will stay in my Midori), projects, goals, reference information, long-term notes, random lists etc. This is my brain, it will hold and organise my life- and the flexibility of a Filofax is perfect for this, which I can't achieve with a bound notebook or even my Midori, and the A5 size is ideal- and it will be a perfect companion to my Midori. They won't overlap, so I won't get confused. My Midori will hold things I need with me all of the time, and things I want with me too, whereas my Filofax will stay at home and hold things I don't need with me when I'm out. Every Sunday evening, I'll flick through my Filofax, and find things that I need to do that upcoming week, or things that I want to, or should, try to fit in that week; then I'll write it into the diary in my Midori!
So there's my update! I'll be setting up my Filofax and my Midori over the next couple of weeks, and I'll try to do a video on them soon! :)
I've not posted for 3 months, I'm sorry about that!
In September I was busy looking for a job, and then in October I started a full-time job!! So for the past 2 months (although it feels longer), I've been working 40 hours a week and travelling 2 hours a day, then I've been very tired after work, so I haven't had the time or energy to blog!
Philofaxy meet-up!!
It was lovely to meet the people I hadn't met before, especially Mella and Chrissie, who I shared a hotel room with, and also seeing others again, like Debbie (who we also shared a hotel room with) and of course Steve! The Friday was amazing, as we had lunch together, shared Gillios around the table (I didn't let myself touch any of them until I'd washed my hands after lunch!), then popped to the JP Books shop to look at Midori Traveler's Notebooks and other Japanese things before making our way to the station for our evening adventure! There we met all of the others, and we chatted until everyone got there and Steve bought tickets for our visit to Filofax HQ at Burgess Hill!!
It was amazing there- the staff were brilliant and passionate about their products!! There was a table of vintage Filofaxes which were absolutely incredible to see in person (and I was trying to think of ways to smuggle them out...), and a presentation about the past, present and the future of the brand, and a Q and A session. Then we mingled, inspecting a wall of current-range Filofaxes, spoke to the staff, answering their questions and showing off our expertise!! Unfortunately we didn't get to see any of the new Filofaxes for next year, but we did see the options being considered for the patterns for the non-leather Filofaxes for the future!
On Saturday, we went to a lovely French cafe for some amazing pastries and gorgeous hot chocolate drink (think melted chocolate!!) for breakfast, then made our way to the huge Paperchase on Tottenham Court Road! I was very good, and didn't buy much- but I could have moved in quite happily!! Then we made our way to Vapianos for lunch, where we got to see most people from the night before, and some others too, and had a nice session of sharing Filofaxes and eating Italian food!! Then we went shopping, including making our way back to Paperchase!! Unfortunately people had to start making their way back to train stations and airports, but it was an amazing weekend and I would love to do it again soon!!!
Planner update!
As you probably know, over the past year I've been chopping and changing between planners, and that's still been happening over the past few months!
However, over the past couple of months I've been happily using my Midori Traveler's Notebook for my calendar diary/agenda/planner. (Video from October here) I love this thing for lots of reasons, but using it as my calendar diary (by which I mean my WO2P diary calendar, not a journal diary), I really love it because I prefer bound diaries rather than the loose-leaf diary pages in my Filofaxes because I wouldn't archive them properly and I'd lose them. Also because I'm not worried about taking my Midori out and about with me like I am with my Filofaxes, if it gets some scratches on it, it just adds to the character, and there's no rings to damage!
 |
| My Midori on my messy desk a couple of months ago |
Although I love my Midori TN, it doesn't work perfectly for everything for me. As my only planner, I have my WO2P calendar diary, organisation lists, and notes. However, I can't fit everything I need in it, and so I need to spread out into other planners. Also, I don't really like having so many serious things in my Midori- my diary with serious appointments, my organisation lists with serious to-dos, and my notes which aren't very fun either- all of these serious things, shouting at me to "Do this! Do that!" aren't fun, and are making me not want to open my Midori! And in the past, I've planned better and managed my life better when I use both an A5 Filofax for planning in conjunction with my Midori.
So my plan is this: I'm going to continue using my Midori TN as my calendar diary, which I love, and I'm going to put my current organisation lists (which have been in a separate notebook, but I'll move them to save space) onto a monthly dashboard spread in here. My diary in here will be my everything- I will put all of my appointments, to-dos, plans and everything in here, I won't have one in my Filofax or anywhere else, because I don't want to get confused or forget an appointment. After this insert, I'll have the space for 2 more notebook inserts, which will be fun and creative sections- things that make me want to open and use my Midori! I think I'll have one notebook for creative writing- poetry and short stories, and I may have another creative notebook (I'd like to sketch or paint, but I'm not good at it), or more probably a notebook insert for random notes, ideas, lists and other things. My Midori will go everywhere with me, around the house, to work, shopping, etc etc!
Then, I'll have my A5 Filofax, probably my Aqua Malden or Espresso Siena, switching between them! This will be my main planning place, having the things that won't fit in my Midori- it will have all of my planning lists (except my 'current' lists, e.g. shopping list, waiting for list, keep in mind list, etc etc, which will stay in my Midori), projects, goals, reference information, long-term notes, random lists etc. This is my brain, it will hold and organise my life- and the flexibility of a Filofax is perfect for this, which I can't achieve with a bound notebook or even my Midori, and the A5 size is ideal- and it will be a perfect companion to my Midori. They won't overlap, so I won't get confused. My Midori will hold things I need with me all of the time, and things I want with me too, whereas my Filofax will stay at home and hold things I don't need with me when I'm out. Every Sunday evening, I'll flick through my Filofax, and find things that I need to do that upcoming week, or things that I want to, or should, try to fit in that week; then I'll write it into the diary in my Midori!
So there's my update! I'll be setting up my Filofax and my Midori over the next couple of weeks, and I'll try to do a video on them soon! :)
