Filofax vs. bound notebooks- what I'm going to do next part 2

NB: If you haven't already, please read this post first

So this is a quick turnaround...


This morning I wrote a post about not using a personal filofax because they get damaged in my handbag. So I tried to start using a notebook for my day-to-day stuff...  

I wrote a day plan thingy for today, and a shopping list page, which only has 1 thing on it- a little hand whisk!

Well... harumphh. This isn't working. I just can't get used to a bound format, the randomness of where my lists etc will end up because I don't have specific sections, and the inability to move/remove/add things! :(

Also, the quality of the paper in the Moleskine I am using leaves much to be desired- the following page (shopping list) is decorated by some stamps, my new favourite thing- 

But the ink bleeds through to the other side!! :(

So, I'm going back to my personal Filofax for my daily organisation. I am still REALLY annoyed that the quality is rubbish, but I notice that the majority of damage (rings getting worse and dents in the leather) happens when I carry my filofax in my handbag. So, maybe I should change the way I carry it! It shouldn't go in my bag any more!

So the next question (besides solving my planner fail), is how should I carry my filofax when I can't have it in my hand?

Do you have any ideas for me? Please comment below!

BTW, I am still thinking about selling some of my personal filos, so if you see one you want, make me an offer!

Filofax vs. bound notebooks- what I'm going to do next! Part 1

NB: My system has changed since this post, so after you read this, please read this later post

Over the past few weeks I have been VERY annoyed with the quality of new Filofaxes. What with my Purple Malden debacle, and the problems with rings, especially in my brand new Holborn personal!! Quite frankly, I'm scared to use my Filofaxes at the moment, especially out and about when I carry them in my handbag! This is where the problems arise- my purple Malden has become really dented through things resting on it in my handbag (although this hasn't happened with any of my other Filofaxes, so I think the leather of the purple Malden is just too soft!), and I have noticed that the already bad rings of my brand new Holborn (it came to me like that) have got worse after an afternoon in my bag! I don't treat them badly- in fact, when I take my filo in my handbag, it sits inside my handbag organiser, in a special compartment, so it's not anywhere near any sharp things like keys etc! But they just get damaged when I take them out with me. I used to always carry my filo in my hand at uni, but when I'm carrying other bags or it's bad weather, I need to put it in a bag. But I'm scared to do so as they are getting damaged!!

Damage to my Purple Malden after one afternoon in my bag!

Yesterday, to try to get ideas to solve my planner fail, I went to Waterstones, who have some nice diaries at the moment. I saw the Moleskine 2013 daily large diary, and I have to say, when I held it in my hand, I really liked the feel of it, how chunky it was, how all the pages were uniform and 'together'. I didn't like it as an actual diary/planner- I have had a Moleskine pocket DPP before and didn't use it much- but I did like how chunky it was. It didn't feel bitty like a Filofax does. But most of all, I liked the thought that it was simple, and straight forward. This isn't just for Moleskine diaries/notebooks, you can say the same about any bound book.
When I got home, I noticed the rings of my Holborn were getting worse, which REALLY ANNOYED ME!!!, and something else struck me about the Moleskine I had looked at earlier- it wouldn't suffer as much damage as my Filofaxes (although I have read about some binding issues with the Moleskines); and also, I wouldn't really care as much if the cover etc got damaged, because I would replace them more frequently, and wouldn't want to keep it forever like my filos. And not to mention, bound planners cost a LOT less than filofaxes!!

So I'm going to start using a bound notebook for my day-to-day stuff. I am still going to use my Filofaxes, BUT they are going to stay at home, safe, where they can't get damaged!!
The way I am going to use the bound notebook is to hold important reference information and lists I will need while I am out and about (shopping lists etc), as a notebook, and a daily planner. BUT I will still use my filos in the same way I am currently using them- my A5 purple Malden for my hobbies/projects, my A5 ochre Malden for my research project (PhD) planner, with a cheaper A5 to take the insides of my A5 ochre Malden to uni (I don't take my ochre A5 to uni through fear of it getting scratched, so I use a cheaper one to take the insides to uni instead), and of course my personal-sized filos for organisation. I am going to use personal weekly diary inserts (probably WO2P from Europe, with appointment times and room for to-dos) as my normal weekly planner, but I won't be doing daily planning in my filo- instead, I will be doing daily planning in my bound notebook.
But now I am thinking, why use personal-sized filofaxes any more? The reason a lot of people use personal rather than A5 is because A5 filos are too big and bulky to carry around with them every day, but when they stay at home, they are great. Well, my filos are going to be staying at home- so maybe I could use an A5 as my organisation filofax! In that case, I don't need as many personal filofaxes as I have, because I won't be using them all the time. However, I will be using some of them, for hobbies, a journal/log-book, a notebook, and there are definitely some I WON'T be selling, because I love them too much! So I'm going to start thinking about selling some of my personals- keep watching my blog for a list of them!

If anyone wants a specific filofax that I have, email me with an offer at bernasconiray at hotmail dot com, and I'll get back to you!

Planner fail with my Filofax inserts...

Hello!

For the past few days I have been feeling Planner Fail. I know a lot of other people have been feeling the same- a general dissatisfaction with their planner, and uncertainty how to solve it.

Since mid-August I have been using a hacked Organised Mum diary, which is Week on 1 Page with Notes. It has been working well for me, because until mid-September I had very little to plan day-to-day, and now since then, I have been using it for forward planning and a weekly over-view, putting my weekly to-do list on the notes page on the left.

I don't have a lot to write on the diary page on the right, and during the current week, I won't write anything extra on that week's diary page, because I use other, additional pages for the current week. I then use the spaces for each day as a space for a little log book and journal, which is working really well for me!

I can't possibly use the WO1P as my main planning space, so I utilise other diary pages along with them. I either insert these pages in between the notes page on the left, and the WO1P on the right, or I put the WO1P/notes back-to-back in between the extra pages.

I have been trying to plan my time better, so for a while (7th Oct to 21st Oct) I used DPP as my extra diary pages with the WO1P plus notes. In the left column, I put appointments (although I don't have many of those at the moment), or try to block off my time so that I can organise my day better, assigning myself time to do the things I need to. On the right, I list my to-dos, maybe some quick notes, and my priorities for the day. I colour-code to make things easier to organise in my head.

A typical couple of days.

The weekends are more difficult- the 2 days are divided over 1 page, and the appointment times aren't there so I have to write them in myself. After that, there's not much time to write to-dos!

This is my most successful and productive day- this is what I'd love every day to look like!!

But that's the problem- most days don't look like this; I'm not using the DPP inserts to their full capacity.
Some days I don't plan in advance, or I don't need that amount of space. The majority of days I used the DPP inserts, I either didn't stick to the time slots I had made for myself, or the entire day was blank because I hadn't forward-planned, so instead of having a big blank space, I just went to fill in what I had already done, so it's nothing more than a detailed log-book. And on days where I have been lazy, on my computer all day, there isn't anything to write, reaffirming my laziness and making me feel guilty!! I'm not using the DPP inserts properly, although all-in-all, they are probably my favourite format and I think they have great promise if you use them well!

This is where my massive planner-fail started! I wanted to use something different than DPP. Something that wouldn't be left so empty on my less-productive days, but would still have enough space for my busy days. It's just like that conundrum between personal and A5 filofaxes- people want the space of the A5 binders, but the portability of the personal-sized binders- I want a lot of space that comes with the DPP, but a smaller, more practical insert like WO2P. But one is too big, and the other is too small!

After some testing of other formats (Day Timer Flavia WO2P, home-made WO2P columns with appointment slots), I decided on Cotton Cream WO2P. They have equal space for all the days of the week, so the weekend slots aren't teeny-tiny! I inserted the Organised Mum diary/notes page in between the 2 pages of the week, which works quite well.

I have tried to use WO2P before, but my brain NEEDS my daily things to be structured more linearly, which is why the time slots of the DPP work so well for me. But this page is much too-unstructured for me- everything I write down seems to float around the page. I have tried to make it a bit more structured by designating areas for specific things (top-right for priorities, bottom-right for TV progs. to watch), but it's still not perfect.

So now that I've gone from the overly-structured (DPP), to under-structured (WO2P), I know that I need something between the two. But this goes to more than just what planner format I use, but how I use it, and how I manage my time, which is something I am trying to improve.
I need appointment slots, preferably with half-hour slots, because a few of the shifts in my new job start on the half-hour. I would like them to go from 8am to 6pm minimum, although later into the evening would be ideal. And I need a bit of space for to-dos etc. BUT I don't want too much space. What would be a good idea is a system where I can have a weekly overview, then I can add extra space when needed. For example: WO1P or WO2P for the weekly overview, and for the less busy days, but a range of inserts I can add as necessary for more busy days, such as 2DPP, DPP or even DO2P. I am happy to make these myself. But I think that might get too messy for me- I think a regular weekly system would be better, where I have the same inserts every week, but it still has the flexibility I need.

I am thinking of a format where I can have a weekly overview with appointment slots on the left, then a page on the right for to-dos. A column on the right-hand page to write down a deadlines for these to-dos, and using post-it flags to show priorities. But I don't know if this will work at all!

Do you guys have any ideas for me?