Talk to me about Filofax

[BigRedBoat]

I've got some John Lewis vouchers, I think I want to treat myself to a Filofax for when I return to work after maternity leave - there's so many options, which one is best? I can choose which inserts I want it's just the difference between organiser/folio/notebook etc I'm not sure about.

When it comes to size try before you buy as mine is too small I struggle to write on the left pages (right handed).

mrkaykay hmm good point, I was thinking a5 to fit in my bag easier but A4 might be better for actually using it!

I tried a ‘personal’ Sized one(A5) - gifted from a friend. I found it too big and cumbersome to take around with me! I tried it for a while but went back to bullet journaling instead choosing a smaller notebook.

Do they still exist?

I love mine. I have a leather one and it just looks better with age. The inserts are hellish expensive but I have few vices to spend my money on

Is it 1993?!

Personally as much as I like the look of a Filofax I prefer to bullet journal for work, in a gridded or dotted notebook. I don’t necessarily need the actual diary part as that’s all on my phone so it’s mainly used for meeting notes and important info.

Seconding the bullet journalling. You don't have to worry about absurdly priced, ridiculously slim inserts, you can tailor it to exactly what you need, plus it can be very pretty too.

I bought myself an off-cut of leather on-line, did a bit of pyrography on it using a soldering iron, and made myself a really nice slip-in cover for my bujo by following some YouTube videos. I am ridiculously attached to it and will use it for years.

I have a Kiki K planner A5 size and just organise it as I want. I need a paper system- I buy my inserts online as you can pick them up much cheaper (next year). I love that I can have what I want in it, organised the way I want it. Bullet journaling got me far too stressed - in case I made mistakes.

Funnily enough lots of things that were popular in the 80s and 90s still exist, why the sneery post?

For a long time I used the one that's smaller than A5 as it fitted in my bag but as someone else says you don't get much per page, how big a bag do you usually use?

Is it 1993?!
I loved my Filofax and used it religiously and (I thought) effectively - I was bullet journalling before it had been invented! Then a colleague made a similar type of comment to me in a meeting once and looking around the room I realised I was the only person not using their laptop as their organiser.
So I thought I would give that a go as my laptop is considerably lighter and smaller than my Filofax. I now wonder why I hung onto the paper for so long. I feel liberated! I also feel less like everyone's mum in meetings now. It can be quite the shock to realise you've been working longer than most in the meeting have been alive so any reason not to emphasise that is very welcome!

I tried a ‘personal’ Sized one(A5

Personal size is NOT A5 so don’t be confused.

If you can, go into a store so you can try out the sizes.

I have a few Filofaxes but my main / current one is the Heritage in A5. It really is beautiful and something I would use as a notebook or something if not as an organiser. It is one of the more expensive ones so depends on your budget:

uk.filofax.com/heritage-a5-compact-organiser-filofax.html

The organiser is the traditional “diary” and you can get different one. Check out the professional series, which I got. Also look at vertical and horizontal layouts.

Paperchase do their own inserts which are set up in blocks, which I like and I’m using at the moment. They are v inexpensive and you can personalise it:

www.paperchase.com/en_gb/stationery/diaries-organisers/organisers-planners/a5-undated-diary-organiser-inserts.html.html

For each day, I use the first box for general info like birthdays, the second box for morning, middle mix for afternoon and the third box for evening. I have enough space for appointments etc. The last box I use for “to do” items generally.

Another tip is to use eraseable pens and use colour coding etc to jazz things up and make it all easier to follow.

Bear in mind I’m using it primarily as a personal diary but I had the professional inserts before for work and personal organising and they come with some great project planners and year planners.

Also do be mindful of the size and how easily you will carry it, what size bag you have as I have previously gone for too big and then found it a chore to carry around.

I had a bulky A5 one that I kept at work and that was fine.

My heritage A5 is fine for me to carry around most of the time but I carry a reasonably sized handbag

Thanks everyone, I am aware they are a fairly retro item (especially for work) but the industry I'm in (social care) is pretty behind the times (we still send faxes!). I need to be able to take notes when I'm visiting clients at home and have a paper diary to book follow up appointments there and then rather than have to go back to the office to check my electronic diary. It's also useful to have a list of contacts for other services/departments I might need to contact or pass contact details on for. A couple of my colleagues have Filofaxes and they always give the impression of being organised people so I'm hoping it will do the same for me!

I will try and have a look in real life rather than just online, I have a fairly big bag for work but it looks like John Lewis has more inserts for a5 than a4 so I might have to go for that.