Monday, 20 June 2011
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Mysterious planner!
I was digging through my notebooks at home (I have lots!!) and I discovered this planner I forgot about for a year and a half! It is a non-filofax ringed planner and I vaguely remember buying it from a car boot sale a couple of years ago and then going to WH Smith to find a diary insert for it. Looking through it is fascinating! It shows just how far my brain has come in organisation since then!
I couldn't remember what type of diary insert I had bought for it back in 2009, and now I look inside the planner I see it was a WH Smith brand week on two pages unlined academic insert. This is particularly interesting to see as it is the type of diary I definitely can't use now, it just doesn't work for me! I think maybe I just didn't have the kind of commitments then that I have had in the last year.
Looking through the diary I can see I used it to record important tasks and deadlines during my work experience in a museum during August, but I really didn't have much to do then so on average I only had 4 entries every week! Then it got a lot busier as I got ready to go back to university. During term-time I noted my lecture times and appointments; it's interesting to see how I laid this out in comparison to this year. I didn't write them in order, I didn't colour-code; there was no structure to it. I think the reason I could cope with this at that point was because my life was relatively un-complicated, and when I had an appointment I could remember it in my brain more easily and my planner was only a reference diary. Now, I have so much to do on certain days with shifts at work, appointments and meetings, lectures, and of course general to-dos and university homework, I just can't keep organised. I NEED a more structured and larger space in which to write in- hence I use a page-a-day insert now.
I stopped using my planner at the end of term 1, and the only entries I have from January onwards are forward planning events I probably wrote months before. I can't remember the precise reason I stopped using it; it was probably that I didn't NEED it so it just dropped out of my mind. And I can't remember what I used instead of this planner. I think I may have used the calendar on my old phone. Now, or at least during year 3 of uni, I had a MUCH busier life and needed a better planner. I am very glad I have had the day-to-a-page insert for the end of my university degree; however I will be changing this system as I have far fewer appointments during the summer, and then changing it again during my MA. I'll do a post on this soon.
For now, I'm just glad a found a new filofax-style binder I can use! I'll be writing reviews of all my planners soon so I'll do a nice review of this one soon :)
I couldn't remember what type of diary insert I had bought for it back in 2009, and now I look inside the planner I see it was a WH Smith brand week on two pages unlined academic insert. This is particularly interesting to see as it is the type of diary I definitely can't use now, it just doesn't work for me! I think maybe I just didn't have the kind of commitments then that I have had in the last year.
Looking through the diary I can see I used it to record important tasks and deadlines during my work experience in a museum during August, but I really didn't have much to do then so on average I only had 4 entries every week! Then it got a lot busier as I got ready to go back to university. During term-time I noted my lecture times and appointments; it's interesting to see how I laid this out in comparison to this year. I didn't write them in order, I didn't colour-code; there was no structure to it. I think the reason I could cope with this at that point was because my life was relatively un-complicated, and when I had an appointment I could remember it in my brain more easily and my planner was only a reference diary. Now, I have so much to do on certain days with shifts at work, appointments and meetings, lectures, and of course general to-dos and university homework, I just can't keep organised. I NEED a more structured and larger space in which to write in- hence I use a page-a-day insert now.
I stopped using my planner at the end of term 1, and the only entries I have from January onwards are forward planning events I probably wrote months before. I can't remember the precise reason I stopped using it; it was probably that I didn't NEED it so it just dropped out of my mind. And I can't remember what I used instead of this planner. I think I may have used the calendar on my old phone. Now, or at least during year 3 of uni, I had a MUCH busier life and needed a better planner. I am very glad I have had the day-to-a-page insert for the end of my university degree; however I will be changing this system as I have far fewer appointments during the summer, and then changing it again during my MA. I'll do a post on this soon.
For now, I'm just glad a found a new filofax-style binder I can use! I'll be writing reviews of all my planners soon so I'll do a nice review of this one soon :)
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
Filofax hack #2
Hullo!
All credit goes Angela who runs the paper rush blog http://paper-rush.blogspot.com/! I was browsing (stalking) her blog, and came across this photo
Do you see the post-it notes stuck to the Today page marker? What a brilliant way to move to-dos week to week! Use those quick index flags, e.g. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sticky-Index-Flags-Leather-Post-/dp/B0027DUSYG/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1307561040&sr=8-13 (I really like the look of this set) and stick them on the ruler! If they get in the way of your week view, just move the ruler. And once you've finished them, take them off. Thanks to Angela!
I'll be trying this once I switch to week-to-view for the summer!
All credit goes Angela who runs the paper rush blog http://paper-rush.blogspot.com/! I was browsing (stalking) her blog, and came across this photo
I'll be trying this once I switch to week-to-view for the summer!
Friday, 3 June 2011
FINISHED!!!!!!!!!
I can't believe I have finished my undergraduate degree!!! Arghh!! It really hasn't sunk in yet! I had my last exam yesterday and will be receiving my results in a few weeks then graduating on 20th July!!
And yes, I did schedule "Collapse" into my filofax after my last exam :) I spent a lazy few hours in bed on the internet and watching TV, went to a friend's house and had lots of fun, and then went home and slept! That's all I wanted to do, so brilliant to actually have some time to do stuff!
So I suppose this should be my first proper post about being a student, seeing as how I'm the 'Perpetual Student' (and haven't written anything about my Life as a PS yet!!)
I study (or studied?) Egyptian Archaeology BA Hons at the University of Liverpool :)
I love it here, it's brilliant, I never want to leave!
We have a relatively small class of students, maybe 15 (tiny compared to some courses like Medicine, which has hundreds doing the same course in the same year!). We are divided into 2 separate courses, Egyptology and Egyptian Archaeology. The difference is that the Egyptologists are primarily dealing with textual evidence, that is reading the ancient Egyptian languages of Old Egyptian, Middle Egyptian, Late Egyptian and Coptic, otherwise known as "hieroglyphs" (although hieroglyphs is a script not a language). They translate a lot of primary texts; whereas Egyptian Archaeologists deal with the more archaeological side of things, also doing more general stuff like the archaeology and history of the Ancient Near East/Western Asia, and Middle Egyptian (thankfully far less language work than the Egyptologists!)
I originally did Egyptology, but when I realised how much language work I would need to do I switched to Egyptian Archaeology as I'm not brilliant at language and text-based things.
I LOVE my course, I wouldn't swap it for the world!
We have studied the history of ancient Egypt, Middle Egyptian, the archaeology of ancient Egypt including monumental evidence and settlement archaeology, foreign relations between Egypt and other countries, the technology of ancient Egypt, ancient Egyptian religion and death and the afterlife :) I've also had to do other things like archaeology in general, studying Bronze and Iron Age Levant, and Ancient Warfare. I didn't enjoy those latter ones because I am definitely an Egypt-only girl!
Each module usually has a 2500-3000 word essay and an exam, but some modules especially Middle Egyptian have lots of work to do throughout the term (translating texts) and some are 100% coursework based so no exam :)
I love my course so much, and I am just about to apply to do my exam, actually I'm going to the library today to research and write the proposal! I'm a bit late to apply, but I have had so much work to do this last term that I haven't actually had time to do the research! But I am aiming to have the whole application form finished by Sunday night, and then I'll spend the whole of the next week packing to move back home!
During the summer I have lots of things planned to do, and unfortunately it looks like my employer won't need me to work during the summer :( So I'll do lots of work towards my MA instead!
I'm going to be setting up an MA planner filofax :) I just bought a raspberry Finsbury A5 filo from ebay :) very cheap, but it's slightly damaged, for example the rings don't close properly at the bottom :( But I'll cope! I'm looking forward to setting it up and using it :)
And yes, I did schedule "Collapse" into my filofax after my last exam :) I spent a lazy few hours in bed on the internet and watching TV, went to a friend's house and had lots of fun, and then went home and slept! That's all I wanted to do, so brilliant to actually have some time to do stuff!
So I suppose this should be my first proper post about being a student, seeing as how I'm the 'Perpetual Student' (and haven't written anything about my Life as a PS yet!!)
I study (or studied?) Egyptian Archaeology BA Hons at the University of Liverpool :)
I love it here, it's brilliant, I never want to leave!
We have a relatively small class of students, maybe 15 (tiny compared to some courses like Medicine, which has hundreds doing the same course in the same year!). We are divided into 2 separate courses, Egyptology and Egyptian Archaeology. The difference is that the Egyptologists are primarily dealing with textual evidence, that is reading the ancient Egyptian languages of Old Egyptian, Middle Egyptian, Late Egyptian and Coptic, otherwise known as "hieroglyphs" (although hieroglyphs is a script not a language). They translate a lot of primary texts; whereas Egyptian Archaeologists deal with the more archaeological side of things, also doing more general stuff like the archaeology and history of the Ancient Near East/Western Asia, and Middle Egyptian (thankfully far less language work than the Egyptologists!)
I originally did Egyptology, but when I realised how much language work I would need to do I switched to Egyptian Archaeology as I'm not brilliant at language and text-based things.
I LOVE my course, I wouldn't swap it for the world!
We have studied the history of ancient Egypt, Middle Egyptian, the archaeology of ancient Egypt including monumental evidence and settlement archaeology, foreign relations between Egypt and other countries, the technology of ancient Egypt, ancient Egyptian religion and death and the afterlife :) I've also had to do other things like archaeology in general, studying Bronze and Iron Age Levant, and Ancient Warfare. I didn't enjoy those latter ones because I am definitely an Egypt-only girl!
Each module usually has a 2500-3000 word essay and an exam, but some modules especially Middle Egyptian have lots of work to do throughout the term (translating texts) and some are 100% coursework based so no exam :)
I love my course so much, and I am just about to apply to do my exam, actually I'm going to the library today to research and write the proposal! I'm a bit late to apply, but I have had so much work to do this last term that I haven't actually had time to do the research! But I am aiming to have the whole application form finished by Sunday night, and then I'll spend the whole of the next week packing to move back home!
During the summer I have lots of things planned to do, and unfortunately it looks like my employer won't need me to work during the summer :( So I'll do lots of work towards my MA instead!
I'm going to be setting up an MA planner filofax :) I just bought a raspberry Finsbury A5 filo from ebay :) very cheap, but it's slightly damaged, for example the rings don't close properly at the bottom :( But I'll cope! I'm looking forward to setting it up and using it :)
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Filofax updates...
I really haven't been keeping up with my poor little blog! I've been really busy the last couple of months, but it's my last (ever!) exam tomorrow and after that I'll have plenty of time... well, after I've done research in the library, applied for MA and then packed up and moved everything into my new house and moved back home!
I can't remember where I left it last time so I'll give a quick run-through of my filofax story over the last couple of months:
After I bought my raspberry Finsbury personal, I bought a mini Finchley in caramel from ebay, very cheap, almost got lost in the post. I got bitten by the filofax-bug and couldn't stop buying more, and I still can't! Bought my A5 red Domino, filled it with DodoPad diary, didn't touch it after day 1! Bought pocket Malden in crimson, didn't actually use it properly, it's still sitting forlorn on my desk :( Bought a personal and pocket Kendal together on ebay, used the personal for a month or so, but too masculine for me (I'll do a detailed review of it soon), might give the personal or pocket to my brother for his birthday. Asked for the ochre Malden in personal for my birthday :D and had to buy it from the American website pens and leather because I can't find it in England. After a bit of fuss it arrived a couple of weeks AFTER my birthday and I haven't even seen it yet!! :S can't wait to get home!! While waiting for that, I decided I must invest in city organiser's deal on the gorgeous crimson Malden in PERSONAL this time :) and I LOVE it! It arrived so quickly, very impressed. LOVE it!
Then, DISASTER! Small scratch in the top right hand corner of my lovely new Malden! Don't know how it got there... covered it up with friend's sparkly red nail varnish... looked then like a sparkly scratch.
Oh well, that doesn't matter any more because DISASTER DISASTER!!! I did something VERY stupid!!
My filofaxes usually never leave my hand, I carry it (whichever I'm using, currently crimson personal Malden [I've fallen behind on naming them!]) rather than putting it in my bag. But on Monday, trying to be efficient and taking my ALL my library books back in one go in my little Paddington bear suitcase, with my phone to my ear in one hand and the suitcase handle in the other, I thought "I'll put filo in a canvas bag and hang it over the handle of my suitcase..." NOT a good idea!! Why I didn't put it over my shoulder I DON'T know! It wasn't even heavy! So I'm walking along with my phone to my ear and my canvas bag swings round the side of my suitcase and scrapes under the wheels. Oops. Holding my breath to see what has happened to my beautiful filo... give it a quick look over, phew! nothing has happened. Obviously I haven't looked hard enough... when I got my filo out to put back into my trusty filofax holder, namely my hand (safest place for it) I find a HUGE!! scratch in the top-right hand corner! Same corner as before only now 3 times the size! OK, maybe it's only 1 cm long and about 4 wide at the widest, but it got through all the layers of leather down to the middle (cardboard?) bit!
INTERNAL SCREEEAAAMM!!!
Quick google "repair filofax", "leather fixers" etc, email Steve at Philofaxy for help, cry inside... decide to go out first thing to find the leather fixers I have found online. Not at the address listed... phone them up, they've closed. Ahh.
Quick walk down to city centre, to Timpsons, "can you repair this?" rude answer, basically no, try nail varnish! Lo and behold, next door is a make-up shop! £1 later, a bottle of nail varnish in my hand, I had painted the corner of my filo in! Almost exactly the same colour (I can see the difference but that's only because I'm aware of it, I don't know if others would be able to spot the difference) and my beautiful filo is almost good as new! PHEW!!
Latest quest, I'm looking for an A5 :) Maybe the new Aston in orchid? Hmm, graduation present? Heehee!!
I can't remember where I left it last time so I'll give a quick run-through of my filofax story over the last couple of months:
After I bought my raspberry Finsbury personal, I bought a mini Finchley in caramel from ebay, very cheap, almost got lost in the post. I got bitten by the filofax-bug and couldn't stop buying more, and I still can't! Bought my A5 red Domino, filled it with DodoPad diary, didn't touch it after day 1! Bought pocket Malden in crimson, didn't actually use it properly, it's still sitting forlorn on my desk :( Bought a personal and pocket Kendal together on ebay, used the personal for a month or so, but too masculine for me (I'll do a detailed review of it soon), might give the personal or pocket to my brother for his birthday. Asked for the ochre Malden in personal for my birthday :D and had to buy it from the American website pens and leather because I can't find it in England. After a bit of fuss it arrived a couple of weeks AFTER my birthday and I haven't even seen it yet!! :S can't wait to get home!! While waiting for that, I decided I must invest in city organiser's deal on the gorgeous crimson Malden in PERSONAL this time :) and I LOVE it! It arrived so quickly, very impressed. LOVE it!
Then, DISASTER! Small scratch in the top right hand corner of my lovely new Malden! Don't know how it got there... covered it up with friend's sparkly red nail varnish... looked then like a sparkly scratch.
Oh well, that doesn't matter any more because DISASTER DISASTER!!! I did something VERY stupid!!
My filofaxes usually never leave my hand, I carry it (whichever I'm using, currently crimson personal Malden [I've fallen behind on naming them!]) rather than putting it in my bag. But on Monday, trying to be efficient and taking my ALL my library books back in one go in my little Paddington bear suitcase, with my phone to my ear in one hand and the suitcase handle in the other, I thought "I'll put filo in a canvas bag and hang it over the handle of my suitcase..." NOT a good idea!! Why I didn't put it over my shoulder I DON'T know! It wasn't even heavy! So I'm walking along with my phone to my ear and my canvas bag swings round the side of my suitcase and scrapes under the wheels. Oops. Holding my breath to see what has happened to my beautiful filo... give it a quick look over, phew! nothing has happened. Obviously I haven't looked hard enough... when I got my filo out to put back into my trusty filofax holder, namely my hand (safest place for it) I find a HUGE!! scratch in the top-right hand corner! Same corner as before only now 3 times the size! OK, maybe it's only 1 cm long and about 4 wide at the widest, but it got through all the layers of leather down to the middle (cardboard?) bit!
INTERNAL SCREEEAAAMM!!!
Quick google "repair filofax", "leather fixers" etc, email Steve at Philofaxy for help, cry inside... decide to go out first thing to find the leather fixers I have found online. Not at the address listed... phone them up, they've closed. Ahh.
Quick walk down to city centre, to Timpsons, "can you repair this?" rude answer, basically no, try nail varnish! Lo and behold, next door is a make-up shop! £1 later, a bottle of nail varnish in my hand, I had painted the corner of my filo in! Almost exactly the same colour (I can see the difference but that's only because I'm aware of it, I don't know if others would be able to spot the difference) and my beautiful filo is almost good as new! PHEW!!
Latest quest, I'm looking for an A5 :) Maybe the new Aston in orchid? Hmm, graduation present? Heehee!!
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Dodo Pad review
Hi!
Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've been very busy with essays and exams! One down, 2 to go!
So this is my review of the Dodo Pad. I tried a dodo pad for my first year at uni (2008) and it didn't work for me then. I didn't know what style of planner really worked for me at that stage, but I found out after a couple of weeks that it didn't work. I don't know what it was; I guess I just didn't know how to use it.
I'm afraid to report that the Dodo Pad still isn't working for me on the second attempt, at least at this stage. I really need a different format! In fact, since I received it and put it in my Domino Rufus, I don't think I used it. I might have looked at it a couple of times over the next few days, but I didn't write anything in it! I initially divided the days/columns into several sections: Uni work (essays etc I was going to focus on); Important things to do at uni (jobs, appointments on campus); Important things to do at home; Misc/other/extra; and Home (things that I needed to do at home; what I was going to do for dinner; general evening things). I filled this in for 1 day, the day after I received it!
Maybe it just doesn't work for ME. According to the reviews on the Dodo Pad website http://www.dodopad.com/pages/dodelighted.html LOTS of people love it! But I don't agree with their statement that once you go Dodo, you Dodon't go back (see what I did there!). It just doesn't suit my needs. The little boxes are good for some things; if you don't need to write a lot of information down, if you need to divide your day into a lot of sections, it's perfect! It would be brilliant for families as everyone can have their own box! Of course the designs are really cute and funny, definitely more interesting than my boring WHSmith day-to-a-page refill in my personal filo! But I can't use this format! I a) need to have a space big enough to write EVERYTHING down; b) need to have a structure where I can put my appointments in time order and see the gaps in between them; and c) prefer to see things in a vertical (reading down not across) format. I hope it works for other people! It just doesn't work for me! Maybe it will work better during the summer, when I don't have uni work to do, appointments etc; I'll just have my own little projects and to-dos to write down.
Sorry Lord Dodo and Miss Peabody!
Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've been very busy with essays and exams! One down, 2 to go!
So this is my review of the Dodo Pad. I tried a dodo pad for my first year at uni (2008) and it didn't work for me then. I didn't know what style of planner really worked for me at that stage, but I found out after a couple of weeks that it didn't work. I don't know what it was; I guess I just didn't know how to use it.
I'm afraid to report that the Dodo Pad still isn't working for me on the second attempt, at least at this stage. I really need a different format! In fact, since I received it and put it in my Domino Rufus, I don't think I used it. I might have looked at it a couple of times over the next few days, but I didn't write anything in it! I initially divided the days/columns into several sections: Uni work (essays etc I was going to focus on); Important things to do at uni (jobs, appointments on campus); Important things to do at home; Misc/other/extra; and Home (things that I needed to do at home; what I was going to do for dinner; general evening things). I filled this in for 1 day, the day after I received it!
Maybe it just doesn't work for ME. According to the reviews on the Dodo Pad website http://www.dodopad.com/pages/dodelighted.html LOTS of people love it! But I don't agree with their statement that once you go Dodo, you Dodon't go back (see what I did there!). It just doesn't suit my needs. The little boxes are good for some things; if you don't need to write a lot of information down, if you need to divide your day into a lot of sections, it's perfect! It would be brilliant for families as everyone can have their own box! Of course the designs are really cute and funny, definitely more interesting than my boring WHSmith day-to-a-page refill in my personal filo! But I can't use this format! I a) need to have a space big enough to write EVERYTHING down; b) need to have a structure where I can put my appointments in time order and see the gaps in between them; and c) prefer to see things in a vertical (reading down not across) format. I hope it works for other people! It just doesn't work for me! Maybe it will work better during the summer, when I don't have uni work to do, appointments etc; I'll just have my own little projects and to-dos to write down.
Sorry Lord Dodo and Miss Peabody!
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Filofax hack #1
Hi everyone! I'm back because I've finally finished my dissertation :D
It was my birthday yesterday and I'm expecting my main birthday present to arrive in a few days, a personal ochre Malden :D but it's from Pens and Leather in the US so is taking a while to come :(
But while I'm waiting I thought I would tell you a filofax hack I thought of. I've named it #1 because I imagine I'll think of a few more in the near future :)
If you want a notepad in your filofax but don't have the slot in it like in the Malden, here's a way for you to fix one into your filo!
What you need:
a filofax notepad (the right size for your filo)
a top-opening envelope
scissors
Take a pair of scissors- be brave, it doesn't hurt!! and cut the side off the cardboard backing of your notepad, approx. 6mm. Cut the left side and you will cut through the holes, but you can still put the notepad on the rings using the holes of the paper itself.
Slip the cardboard backing into the top-opening envelope
And voila! You now can have a notepad in your filofax!!
And while I'm loading pictures off my phone, here's a picture of my cat :)
It was my birthday yesterday and I'm expecting my main birthday present to arrive in a few days, a personal ochre Malden :D but it's from Pens and Leather in the US so is taking a while to come :(
But while I'm waiting I thought I would tell you a filofax hack I thought of. I've named it #1 because I imagine I'll think of a few more in the near future :)
If you want a notepad in your filofax but don't have the slot in it like in the Malden, here's a way for you to fix one into your filo!
What you need:
a filofax notepad (the right size for your filo)
a top-opening envelope
scissors
Take a pair of scissors- be brave, it doesn't hurt!! and cut the side off the cardboard backing of your notepad, approx. 6mm. Cut the left side and you will cut through the holes, but you can still put the notepad on the rings using the holes of the paper itself.
Slip the cardboard backing into the top-opening envelope
And voila! You now can have a notepad in your filofax!!
And while I'm loading pictures off my phone, here's a picture of my cat :)
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