31 March 2017

Free for All Friday No. 437 by Nan

Recently, I consolidated all my credit and rewards cards from two Slimline Filofax organizers--one main wallet and one backup for lesser-used cards--into one Personal. Actually, I had pictured fitting them all into one Compact, but I guess to Slimlines add up to one stuffed Personal. I was hoping to eliminate the problem of not having the right wallet with me when I needed it.

Well, it's turned into a failed experiment. The Personal isn't as convenient for carrying my pen and cash. Worse, it no longer fits into the wallet pockets of my various bags.

What was your biggest Filofax fail?

(Of course, since it's Friday, your other failures are welcome as well.) 

30 March 2017

The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Plannerverse - Episode 56


Hints and Tips on making planner videos

Not specifically about planners, this episode I hope will help people that make videos or want to make videos about their planners.

If you have ideas for future episodes please send them to steve at philofaxy dot com

Show Notes (timings approximate)
00:00 - Introduction
01:00 - What platforms
02:30 - Equipment
06:00 - Lighting
07:00 - Boundary of view
08:00 - Length of your videos
10:00 - Don't just show the cover for 2-3 minutes!
11:00 - Personal information
13:00 - Editing
14:30 - You Tube Capture
15:15 - Include your channel name in the title of your video
16:00 - Pirated videos
18:30 - Tagging your videos
19:30 - Inclusion in Web Finds
21:00 - Don't do vertical video
22:00 - Vertical video
22:15 - Respond comments on your videos
23:00 - Building your audience
24:30 - Enjoy making your videos and sharing

Episode 56 - Hints and Tips on making planner videos 


A direct download is also available here: Episode56.mp3

Show notes: A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf

NB: A5 is in A4 format so it can be scaled to suit A5 or A6 size. Personal is for printing direct on Personal size paper.



Presenters - Steve Morton
Editing and production - Steve Morton

Our Websites:
Steve: Philofaxy, Travellers Notebook Times, Mr Philofaxy (IG)

Naturally we would love to hear your feedback on the podcast. If you use iTunes please gives us your rating or reviews of the podcast.

If you want a quick link to all the podcasts remember: http://philofaxy.com/podcast/

Previous Episodes:

55 - Keeping up to date - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
54 - Interview with Jennifer Powell at PlannerCon - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
53 - Conferences and Meet Ups - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
52 - The Magic of Contextualising Your Life - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
51 - Guest Interview - Rose Orchard - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
50 - Organising your significant other - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
49 - Creating the ultimate planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
48 - Getting past New Years resolutions - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
47 - How to understand being a planner newbie - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
46 - Buying and Selling 101 - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf
45 - A5 or A6 - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
44 - End of Year - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
43 - Digital Planning vs Analogue Planning - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
42 - Planning vs Organising - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
41 - Short and Long Term Planning - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
40 - Good and Bad Planner Habits - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
39 - Tackling Planner Size Change - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
38 - Self-Improvement or Personal Development - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
37 - What is productivity anyway - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
36 - The Planner Community - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
35 - Wellness Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
34 - Listeners Question - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
33 - Pens and other writing instruments - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
32 - Proper storage, care and shipping of planners, rings etc - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf
31 - Guest Interview - Louise Umeki - Plannercon 2017 - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
30 - Form Following Function -  A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
29 - Seasonal To Do Lists - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
28 - Making and keeping annual goals - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
27 - Organising the family - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
26 - Guest interview - Theresa Hall - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
25 - Guest interview - Ray Blake - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
24 - Defining the important things from the urgent things - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
23 - Guest interview with Rita Sedani - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
22 - Printing your own inserts - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
21 - How to derail your planning system by over thinking - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
20 - Digital devices/services and your analogue planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
19 - What To Keep In Your 'Others' Tab - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
18 - Zombie Apocalypse Preparation - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
17 - Managing Finances In Your Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
16 - Planning for those of us who actually can't live without planning, with guest co-host Carie Harling - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
15 - Automation NirvanaA5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
14 - Work Life Balance and Your Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
13 - GTD Productivity And Using Your Paper Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
12 - Job Seeking and Keeping - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
11 - Planner Fail -  A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
10 - Planner Hacks - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
9 - Planner Planning - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
8 - Choosing Inserts - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
7 - How do you carry your planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
6 - Planners on the go - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
5 - Why would you pay more than the price of a Filofax? - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
4 - Using Your Planner To Create Permanent Habit Changes - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
3 - Getting on with two or more planners - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf
2 - Where to start your planning journey and why - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
1 - What size and why....  - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf

29 March 2017

Tell us about...... 1

I have bought several organisers via Adspot here on Philofaxy that were very sensibly or reasonably priced that turned out to be absolutely like new.

It's always great to be surprised when you open a package and the item is even better than you thought it would be.

Sometimes they are models I've never seen before, sometimes only pictures of them in the catalogues.

So what is the cheapest organiser you have ever bought? But it was one that was not a disappointment, in fact you were pleasantly surprised by it?

Answers please in the comments.

28 March 2017

Web Finds - 28 March 2017

So I hope you have had a good weekend.

So now it is time to enjoy a great collection of blog posts and videos from around the internet.

Meanwhile here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.
  1. Plan With Me Franklin Covey Budget Planner Mar 27th thru Apr 2nd - The Clumsy Crafter
  2. Gillio & Chic Sparrow - April Setup - Teach_and_ Plan
  3. What's in my Planner Bag!? - Mybusyhappylife
  4. Gillio Real Ostrich Serpentine Flip Through March 2017 - Sharr K
  5. Van der Spek standard custom planner review and setup - From Chaos to Order
  6. FILOFAX - Journal storages - Siamese Rain
  7. Blog, filofax, bullet journal & tips - Rose Cocoon
  8. Filofax & other planners- add pockets to your dividers - Susie Jefferson
  9. Filofax or planner pocket with real lace - Susie Jefferson
  10. New Filofax Original!!! - Kaye Bella
  11. ++Plan with me++Filofax Personal++KW13 2017++ - Do what you Love
  12. PWM Yellow Pocket Filofax Planner March 27-April 2 - Robin's Nest
  13. DIY Tutorial FILOFAX Flyleaf Embossing - Diamondis Creativ
  14. ♦ Planner Talk! A 2nd Planner? Filofax? - CIAO IT'S DANIELLE
  15. Filofax Pocket Malden Set-Up + Review - Planner Life
  16. Filofax Malden ochre - Rita Weaver
  17. Set Up Filofax DominoPink - Manchmal Sonne
  18. Personal Filofax / Plan with Me for March 27th to April 2nd 2017 - IdleEmma
  19. Bullet Journal / Filofax Vorlage A5 - April 2017 printable - Tinas Welt
  20. La mia agenda filofax saffiano - Eris Rosa
  21. Functional Planning in a Pocket Osterley and A4 Finsbury Filofax - Nackie
  22. UNBOXING MY NEW A5 FILOFAX PLANNERS - foxclouds
  23. Functional Plan With Me A5 Filofax 3/27/2017 - 4/2/2017 - PlansMeetPaper
  • For tips on how to improve your videos, please see this post.  Also this video too Webfinds 
  • Your Filofax/Organiser Videos could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
My Week Posts
  1. My week #258 - Paper Lovestory
  2. Plan with me || Tropical garden - Karens Obsessions
Enjoy.


Free For All Tuesday No. 321

So what questions or discussion points have you got for us today?

It doesn't matter if you are a beginner or a more experienced user of organisers, we want to hear your thoughts, questions, opinions etc.

Make today the one day you post a comment or a question.

It is Tuesday after all so fire away.

27 March 2017

A date for your diary - 2 April 2017

We are going to run another conference round-table voice/video/text chat using Skype a little later than normal this month due to my travel commitments.

When? - Sunday 2 April at the following times:
  • London 10:00 am, 
  • Paris 11:00 am, 
  • Brisbane 7:00 pm time.
Additionally we will be on line later in the day at the following times:
  • Los Angeles 8:00 am, 
  • Denver 9:00 am
  • Dallas 10:00 am, 
  • New York 11:00am, 
  • London 4:00 pm 
  • Paris 5:00 pm etc.  
The timing of these two sessions have been chosen to hopefully allow as many people to join in compared to previous round-tables.

Do not worry if you aren't available at the start of one of our sessions each one lasts 2-3 hours so pop up when you are available and say hello.

Where? - an on-line chat using Skype. with voice and video (if you wish)

What do I need? - just a micro-phone and some head phones(in ear phones work fine) and a free Skype account. Using headphones or earphone reduces 'echo' on the call. Video is optional, but a few of us will be on video as well.

Who - All of you... connect up with Philofaxy and we will attempt to get as many of us linked in to the audio conference as possible. Come and listen if you don't want to chat.  What do we talk about? Filofax stuff... but anything else as well. It's like long lost friends meeting up for coffee and a catch up.. but don't worry if you have never joined in before... you are an old friend too!

If you have any questions you want to ask then please let us know in the group or before we start.

How -
  1. Connect to Philofaxy by firstly searching for Philofaxy in Skype, I will then add you as a contact.
  2. Then  'Send Contact Request',  I will then add you in to the chat room. 
  3. Then if you request it, I can add you to the audio conference as well. But if you just want to chat via keyboard that's fine. That way it's slightly less hectic for me!  
Come and join in the fun, even if you only pop in to say hello... but don't be afraid to join in the discussion.

As with previous round-tables there will also be a parallel text chat room going at the same time as the voice conference, so you can listen to the voice chat and type if you wish, just mute your microphone in Skype

If you need any assistance setting up Skype, please pop a comment in this post and I will try and help you get one line. Skype is free for computer to computer calls....

Here is my post on how to improve your Skype audio with headphones or a headset.

Hope to be chatting with you on Sunday 2 April 2017.

26 March 2017

Buying and Selling via Philofaxy Ad-Spot

From time to time I'm sure you all look at your little collection and think... I should really sell that organiser...it is only gathering dust on the shelf and I really fancy that new colour/model that Steve has been 'enabling' about...

Well Philofaxy is here to help sell your Filofax and other brands of organisers and accessories... is this negative enabling?

There are a lot of hints and tips as well as other information in this post, I apologise if some of it is common sense... but well you know.....

We have our Ad-spot page for readers adverts, firstly here are the rules for placing ads on the page:
  • Preferably Filofax and other ring bound planner items only please... obvious really!
  • No parallel Ebay adverts, if you have put it on Ebay, then please don't ask us to advertise your items as well. 
  • We are serious when we request that you donate to our chosen charity, so please consider giving some form of donation if you are placing an item on the Ad-spot page.
    Consider what it would have cost to sell on Ebay, Philofaxy is visited by more than 3000 people every day... and they are an informed and targeted audience.
  • Adverts will be on the page for no more than a calendar month, if it hasn't sold in that time it will be removed. 
  • Please tell us when your item has sold so it can be removed from the page. 
  • Once you have received the funds please despatch the item within 5 days. Don't accept the funds and leave it for 3 weeks, people tend to think they have been scammed when people do that. Inform the buyer when you have despatched the item include the tracking number if there is one. 
  • If we get reports that you haven't responded to enquiries we will remove your advert immediately.
  • Please put the text of your advert in the email exactly as you want it to appear, keep it concise and to the point, Steve will possibly reformat it, but he baulks at rewriting adverts from sketchy details. 
  • The seller is responsible for paying Pay Pal fees, prices should include fees and buyers should pay via the Goods and Services option not Friends and Family option. This is to protect the buyer in case of any loss. 
  • Remember you are entering in to a private sale between the buyer and seller, Philofaxy can not take any responsibility for the transaction going wrong in anyway. 
So those are the rules, nothing complicated and all very fair.

So what to include in your advert. Please make your advert as clear as possible, it should include:
  • Details of the Model, size, colour, age if you know when it was originally bought
  • Your location so an estimate on the cost of shipping can be estimated. You only need to go to country level.
  • Condition, is it new, never been used, been in daily use, well used, broken in etc. 
  • What is included in terms of inserts, diary inserts etc. 
  • Where you are willing to ship the item to.
  • Your contact details, an email address. 
  • Smoking household or not. There is nothing worse as a non-smoker about receiving an article that stinks of tobacco smoke, this is nearly impossible to get rid of. 
  • Some photographs, but please limit it to two photos per item. Please email these with your advert, or alternatively send us the links to your pictures. For better pictures please read this post on how to improve your pictures of Filofax Organisers.
  • If you are taking your photos with your iPhone or other smart phone or tablet device, be aware that all the file names will be the same... and Steve will not be exactly pleased trying to sort out the pictures against the different items when he receives your request... transfer them to your PC and resize the pictures and rename them before emailing them as attachments with the text of your advert. Pictures don't need to be bigger than 1600 pixels on the longest side. 
  • And price.... we can not handle auctions so the price has to be a fixed price. 
The price... I'm often asked 'how much should I ask for an xyz in Personal size'... I'm not the Quentin Wilson of the Filofax world, but here is some suggestions/tips on pricing...
  • You can set the price to what ever you want it to be, I'm not going to stop you.....but......
  • If the item is new but you have never used it, then I would suggest 15% -20% under what you paid for it. Remember the buyer might be able to buy one for same or less than the price you paid. If you have to add the price of shipping on top of the cost and remember some retailers offer free shipping. Look around at the prices that that item is available for, not just what the price is on the Filofax UK or USA site. We have all seen grossly inflated prices on Ebay for items... that didn't sell!
  • If the item is used or may be not on current sale, then take a look at Ebay and look at completed sales to see what the average price has been on that particular model/size in the past.
  • If you want the item to sell quickly be prepared to allow for some bargaining on your price. 
  • Sellers must quote on the basis that they will be paying the Paypal fees and that buyers using Paypal will be specifying that they are purchasing goods.
When you have agreed a price for your item and you start to receive enquiries via Email, please try to answer them promptly. We suggest that you do any money transactions via a secure method, PayPal generally seems to work very well these days, it's very quick and secure.

Only use the paying for goods and services method of sending the funds, the receiver will be paying a small fee, but the consumer rights of the sender of the money are far more secure in case there are problems with the transaction.  To send funds you don't need to have a Paypal account yourself, you can pay with a credit or debit card

When you come to despatch the item to your lucky buyer, do be careful and pack your Filofax organiser well. Plenty of padding inside and outside of the organiser, I've repaired one or two and advised on others where they have become damaged in transit. Straightening out the ring mechanism after it's been trodden on is not easy! Read this post for details of how to pack your organiser. But still consider getting insurance on the parcel.
  • Shipments made with standard postage, without tracking or insurance are “seller’s risk” – if the item does not arrive, sellers are expected to refund all money.
  • If the seller wants to use insured or tracked postage that the buyer is unwilling to pay for, then the risk of lost items shifts to the buyer.
  • Sellers must respect requests to use a premium shipping option (tracked, expedited, insured, etc.) that the buyer is paying for.
And once your sale is complete.... don't forget to tell Philofaxy of the completed sale so the advert can be withdrawn, we will acknowledge your instructions. Make your donation to Chimwemwe at this point as well.

For Wanted adverts things are a little bit simpler, you just need to specify the model, size, colour  and your contact email address. May be include your country location. Again format the text of your advert as you would like it to appear. Wanted adverts are currently shown on the page for 2 months.

All that is then left to do is to sit back and decide..... now what Filofax can I buy to replace the one I've just sold..... Enable Enable.... well there is a space on that shelf isn't there....

Contact Steve philofaxy at gmail dot com if you have any questions or you have an advert to post.

25 March 2017

Web Finds - 25 March 2017

So I hope you have had a good week

So now it is time to enjoy a great collection of blog posts from around the internet, so grab a drink and make yourself for our weekly round-up.

Here are some Philofaxy posts you might have missed this week:
  1. Web Finds - 18 March 2017
  2. Reader Under The Spotlight - Ian
  3. Red Winchester: take two - by Anita
  4. Free For All Tuesday No. 320
  5. Web Finds - 21 March 2017
  6. Van der Spek Senior Sizes
  7. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Plannerverse - Episode 55
  8. Free For All Friday No. 436 by Laurie
So here are the latest Filofax and other brand blog posts from around the Internet. Don't forget to leave a comment on the posts you enjoyed reading, all bloggers enjoy getting comments.
  1. Write it Down or Power it Up? Password Lists - Lil Divette
  2. The Planner Society Monthly Subscription - Lifeslittlecrafts
  3. Midyear Flagship Edition: Your Questions Answered! - Day Designer
  4. Widened top tab divider templates - free download - Blog - PlanCademy
  5. One month in: using a Bullet Journal and Filofax combo - Polkadotparadiso
  6. PlannerCon 2017 - Christina Marie Muller
  7. Pocket Malden Update - Plan It Zoe
  8. On The Move - My GTD System
  9. Gillio Firenze Vs Van Der Spek Planner Comparison - Lifeslittlecrafts
  10. Details - VDS custom made standard planner - Blog - PlanCademy
  11. Spring setup del mio planner - Lucy-Wonderland
  12. 4 Tips to Keep Your Todo List Sorted by Priority - Time Management Ninja
  13. Time management Monday: Scheduling tasks? - Quo Vadis Blog
  14. What's in my Work Bag? (The #WIMB Series) - Kimberly Krafts
  15. Planner Girls Collective: current planner set up - a ska loving geek
  • We monitor over 400 blogs and sites, your Filofax/Organiser blog posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
  • We can not guarantee people will read your posts, but we know there is a higher chance of people reading your posts and returning to read other posts if you make them interesting with pictures and good hints and tips. Do not forget to give your posts a title... 
  • Your Filofax/Organiser posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
Enjoy

24 March 2017

Free For All Friday No. 436 by Laurie

One of the many things I love about using a Filofax is being able to rotate planner pages in and out of my binder. I keep a couple of months' worth of past monthly pages for reference, but beyond that they go into my storage binder. I keep 13 months of monthly pages for forward planning. And I keep 5-6 months of weekly pages. Farther future pages are kept in my "on-deck" binder. I rotate pages monthly throughout the year so that I only have what I need in my binder at any given moment.

I love that everything in my binder is relevant to me right now. There's nothing old or irrelevant or out of date. I'm not stuck carrying around pages I don't need.

How often do you rotate pages in your Filofax? Do you do a big page-swap once or twice per year? Or like me do you rotate pages out more often?

And as always on Fridays, feel free to discuss/ ask anything ring-binder related!

23 March 2017

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Plannerverse - Episode 55


Keeping up to date

There are many sources of information about planning out in the world these days not just books but videos, blog posts, Instagram etc etc. Keeping up to date with new ideas is a job in itself.

We attempt to give you some ideas on how to cope with information overload and share with you how we keep track of information to read later or make reference to at a later date.

If you have ideas for future episodes please send them to steve at philofaxy dot com

Show Notes (timings approximate)
00:00 - Introductions
02:30 - Productivity is now so fashionable
03:00 - So many ideas out there
03:30 - Building up a reference source of information
04:45 - Where to keep this type of information?
05:15 - Have a separate section in your planner
06:30 - How did you find it on Google?
07:00 - Using Flipboard
07:45 - Steve's Flipboard magazines
10:15 - Setting aside a time to go through the information you have found and stored
11:30 - Planner Planning - What isn't working
12:30 - Finding information in Daily inserts
14:45 - Finding information in books you have read
15:45 - Bookshelf app and Goodreads app
16:45 - Take notes about the books you are reading noting the page numbers
17:30 - Create a reference planner
19:15 - Review the changes you make and assess if they have improved your planner use
21:00 - Instagram as a potential source of information and ideas
22:30 - Saving a photo on Instagram (circled in the picture on the right)
24:00 - The range of information available on Instagram
24:45 - Using all new forms of Social Media to see how they can provide you with information and ideas.
26:00 - Sit back at least once a week or a month and look in to how you can improve the use of your planners
27:00 - Discover others in your local area who share your same enthusiasm for planning and meet up.

Episode 55 - Keeping up to date 


A direct download is also available here: Episode55.mp3

Show notes: A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf

NB: A5 is in A4 format so it can be scaled to suit A5 or A6 size. Personal is for printing direct on Personal size paper.



Presenters - Karine Tovmassian and Steve Morton
Editing and production - Steve Morton

Our Websites:
Karine: PlannerologyKarine Tovmassian (IG)
Steve: Philofaxy, Travellers Notebook Times, Mr Philofaxy (IG)

Naturally we would love to hear your feedback on the podcast. If you use iTunes please gives us your rating or reviews of the podcast.

If you want a quick link to all the podcasts remember: http://philofaxy.com/podcast/

Previous Episodes:

54 - Interview with Jennifer Powell at PlannerCon - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
53 - Conferences and Meet Ups - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
52 - The Magic of Contextualising Your Life - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
51 - Guest Interview - Rose Orchard - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
50 - Organising your significant other - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
49 - Creating the ultimate planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
48 - Getting past New Years resolutions - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
47 - How to understand being a planner newbie - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
46 - Buying and Selling 101 - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf
45 - A5 or A6 - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
44 - End of Year - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
43 - Digital Planning vs Analogue Planning - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
42 - Planning vs Organising - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
41 - Short and Long Term Planning - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
40 - Good and Bad Planner Habits - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
39 - Tackling Planner Size Change - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
38 - Self-Improvement or Personal Development - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
37 - What is productivity anyway - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
36 - The Planner Community - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
35 - Wellness Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
34 - Listeners Question - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
33 - Pens and other writing instruments - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
32 - Proper storage, care and shipping of planners, rings etc - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf
31 - Guest Interview - Louise Umeki - Plannercon 2017 - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
30 - Form Following Function -  A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
29 - Seasonal To Do Lists - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
28 - Making and keeping annual goals - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
27 - Organising the family - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
26 - Guest interview - Theresa Hall - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
25 - Guest interview - Ray Blake - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
24 - Defining the important things from the urgent things - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
23 - Guest interview with Rita Sedani - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
22 - Printing your own inserts - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
21 - How to derail your planning system by over thinking - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
20 - Digital devices/services and your analogue planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
19 - What To Keep In Your 'Others' Tab - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
18 - Zombie Apocalypse Preparation - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
17 - Managing Finances In Your Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
16 - Planning for those of us who actually can't live without planning, with guest co-host Carie Harling - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
15 - Automation NirvanaA5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
14 - Work Life Balance and Your Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
13 - GTD Productivity And Using Your Paper Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
12 - Job Seeking and Keeping - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
11 - Planner Fail -  A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
10 - Planner Hacks - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
9 - Planner Planning - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
8 - Choosing Inserts - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
7 - How do you carry your planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
6 - Planners on the go - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
5 - Why would you pay more than the price of a Filofax? - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
4 - Using Your Planner To Create Permanent Habit Changes - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
3 - Getting on with two or more planners - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf
2 - Where to start your planning journey and why - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
1 - What size and why....  - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf

22 March 2017

Van der Spek Senior Sizes

A question that frequently comes up on the Facebook groups and in comments on previous blog posts is the differences in sizes of the Senior size in the Van der Spek range.

There are effectively four possible combinations of size for the Senior size when ordered in a custom organiser:
  1. Un-widened with 20mm rings
  2. Un-widended with 25mm rings
  3. Widened with 20 mm rings
  4. Widened with 25 mm rings
I have examples of 1 and 4 from the above list which we will show in a moment. Options 2 and 3 are actually quite close in overall size but differ in the spine thickness because of the different ring size. All four size options are the same height.

Light brown 'Widened' 25mm above Black 'Un-widened' 20mm below

Light brown 'Widened' 25mm above Black 'Un-widened' 20mm below

So why un-widened and widened, let us get that out of the way first.... 

Originally the Senior size was made to take inserts that are 95mm by 152mm in size. I'm not sure which company was the first to produce inserts in this size, but there are a few companies that use this size and make organisers or inserts for it. 

Van der Spek can supply inserts in this size, therefore they wished to retain the option of organisers in the 95x152mm page size. 

However,  this size isn't A6 size, A6 is 105mm by 148mm in size, so this is where the 'Widened' size comes from, it is effectively an increase of 10mm in width to accommodate the true width of A6 size inserts. 

A6 inserts in the 'Widened' Senior with 25mm rings. No issues with tabs near the pen
'Un-widened' can be made to work with A6 inserts if you either use top tabs, or keep the tab width down in size, but is it very close to the edge of the width of the organiser. 

A6 inserts and dividers in the 'Unwidened' Senior with 20mm rings

A6 inserts and dividers in the 'Unwidened' Senior with 20mm rings, notice how close the tabs are to the pen and the edge

Some people prefer the slightly smaller size of the 'Un-widened' organisers as they are closer to the width of personal size but shorter. 

Black Senior ('Un-widened') and Crimson Malden Personal size

In the Touch Me range the Senior started off as option 1 (Un-widened with 20mm rings) With the introduction of the purple and light brown in 2015 these were made in the size of option 4 (widened with 25mm rings). 

All of the current Touch Me range Seniors are now option 4 in size (Widened with 25mm rings) they are available in 5 colours all with two pen loops and 25mm Krause rings. 

In the Custom organiser range you do have the option of any one of the four size combinations listed above.

Finally for comparison purposes the Gillio A6 Compagna is a few mm narrower than the Van der Spek Senior  when made in Widened with 25mm rings format. This is because the Gillio only has 23 mm rings compared to the Van der Spek 25mm Krause rings. 

If you have any additional questions please post them in the comments below.