19 October 2007

A5 Access

In a comment on a recent guest post, a reader asked about the availability of A5 binders to store archived Filofax pages. The Filofax post storage binders make it hard to read or photocopy completed pages.

In Europe, there's not much of a problem. A5 2-ring binders and hole punches are everywhere. (You need a separate hole punch, because none of the 6 holes in Filo paper line up with the 2 holes in an A5 binder. Funny, that.)

But in the U.S., A5 paper and accessories are very hard to find. You can possibly find items in the Japantowns of major cities, as I did in New York last year.

Recently, I found another source, located in Massachusetts, that will ship anywhere in the U.S. It's Empire Imports. The #1075 binder on this page is A5 size. There's only one color (dark), and only one spine size (3"), but it's available in the U.S., it holds tons of paper, and Empire Imports is increasing its selection all the time. For example, the company recently added reams of A5 paper, so you can print your own Filo forms. You can also get hole punches from them.

(By the way, if you need A4 or A3 paper and accessories in the U.S., Empire Imports has an even bigger selection.)

17 October 2007

Thanks for the comments!

I just wanted to thank everyone who's been commenting on new (and not-so-new) entries. I don't always respond, but I do read them, and so do our regular readers and those who come to this blog via search engines.

Thanks for contributing to the discussion! It feels good that this blog gets so many visitors, and I'll try to come up with more posts to gratify all of you!

16 October 2007

Guest Blog: Laurie Huff

Today's guest blog touches on points that are near and dear to all of our hearts. I know they are to mine. Especially since I've solved my own constant "should I switch" dilemma by making a simple rule: Only switch at the change of a calendar year. (OK, at the change of an academic year if I'm really desperate.) Well, the change of a calendar year is coming. What's in store for us Philofaxers?

The 2008 Itch

As 2007 starts to wind down, my thoughts turn to 2008. Specifically, what calendar will I use next year? My lust for the new and exciting has me reeling with the possibilities. Will I stick with the Filofax week on 2 pages? Should I go for that nifty week plus notes? This of course runs into my classic problem: My Personal size Filofax just doesn't give me enough room to write each day with a week at a view. So now I wonder, should I branch out? Should I switch to a page per day? I tried this one year and, though I had more space to expand my thoughts and plans on a daily basis, I tended to do a poor job of planning ahead without the whole week spread in front of me and the next whole week just a page-turn away. I was lost in a sea of individual days.

So then this begs the question: Should I upgrade my Filofax? Is it time to move up to the A5 size? Will sacrificing portability be worth the gains of writing space and future planning?

Which begs another question: Why do I think about it so much? Is my life really so complicated that I need to find a system that works absolutely flawlessly for me? What about the fact that my needs change every few months and suddenly what worked before is now woefully inadequate?

Questions, questions. Maybe I feel this way because of testimonials from people about how the "perfect" planner system changed their life. Covey, GTD, Uncalendar—the list of systems is endless. People seem to find their perfect system, and suddenly their life is easier, more efficient, and they accomplish their goals! Why can't I do that??

Every year I continue my quest for the Filofax Holy Grail. Would I accomplish just as much with a spiral bound notebook and some Post-Its?



(By the way, Laurie, here's how I settle the A5/Personal conundrum: I use an A5 for business and a Personal for personal. In both cases, I use a week-per-2-pages...vertical for the A5 and horizontal for Personal. I used a day-per-page A5 for work for quite a while, though. In that case, I need to supplement it with a month-per-2-pages or a fold-out year. Since my daily activities are ratcheting up these days...more appointments, workouts, events, and errands to record, I'm seriously considering a day-per-page Personal for 2008. Just thinking about it is delicious. -- Inky)