When I decided to go back to a paper planner,
specifically Filofax, I kinda thought it was a no-brainer. I have big,
sprawling handwriting so the Mini and Pocket sizes were not even a
consideration. The A5 is the perfect size, writing-wise, but just way too
heavy. I carry large handbags so it would fit. But many of my bags are 2-3 lbs,
empty. By the time I add all my junk,
we’re up in the 5-6 lb range. To add an A5 to that would be like carrying
luggage everywhere. So that leaves the Personal…like I said, a no-brainer.
Could I be any more wrong?!
Over the past few months, I have switched
back and forth between different models of Personal FF and between different
calendar formats. Don’t moan, I am not going to chronicle all that here. I
will, however, show you a couple of pages so you can see my dilemma with the
calendar formats:
Here is a sample of my writing on a Personal
size blank sheet:
I wasn’t kidding. That is my normal
handwriting…I’m lucky to get 3 words on a line. Now I can write smaller if I am
forced to. But I enjoy the writing
experience and when I have to write small…no joy. So the Week on One Page
didn’t work at all. Here’s the Week on Two Pages:
Yes, I can make this work, but no joy! And I
have to use a Notes page in between for those days when a lot is going on. AND,
Filofax, what’s up with Saturday and Sunday?! I have more going on on those days, not less! NEXT! Day on a Page:
I spent way too much money on this one…and I
don’t like it! I don’t like the feel of the paper and the lines are too close
together. I bought this one because I love color, but these colors don’t do it
for me.
Maybe I need to just suck it up and carry the
A5. LOVE the space:
Oh, this is nice! Plenty of room to write. I
even like the feel of this FF paper.
But it’s sooo heavy! Do I really want to carry that around everywhere? And whip it out in a store
when I need a quick measurement? That’s like whipping out a phonebook! (Ok, that reference may not
make sense to some of you…Phonebooks used to be made of paper and delivered to your
house. Everyone had one.)
I then went through a frenzy of weighing
everything. Different Personals...empty, full, ½ full. A5, same thing. Different
handbags...with the Personal, with the A5, with no planner. Did this help me
make a decision? NO. I am still switching. And, frankly, I am a little tired of
it. I know from reading other blogs and watching videos, that this is a common
problem. But I don’t want it to be my problem. I want to be part of that
Filofax group that has found the perfect planner with the perfect format. If
such a thing really exists…
Have you ever though of printing out the 2 days per page for personal size format from philofaxy? Solved my conundrum.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion. I love how Steve and Ray (and others) make their designs available for free. It is refreshing to see that level of sharing.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to follow your advice from your recent post about not being so quick to change. We'll see how it goes...
DeleteLuckily, I have a tiny little handwriting. But I agree that yours is big enough to justify an A5.
ReplyDeleteIt causes me problems all the time. I just can't (or don't want to?) stay within the lines.
DeleteAnd am I really saving any weight using a Personal if I have to use more pages than I would using A5? Hmmm, food for thought...
I also have a lot of trouble deciding between sizes. My writing is fairly small, but I tend to write a lot on each page and have always found myself annoyed by the slightly-too-narrow writing width of the Personal size, particularly once the rings are taken into account. And yet I've always found A5 binders to be too big. I wish the Personal pages were a proper A6 instead.
ReplyDeleteOne option might be Franklin Covey's Compact organisers, whose pages are the same height as Filofax Personal but wider by 13 mm (1/2 inch). If your Personal binder is wide enough, you might even be able to fit the blank Franklin Covey pages in (though you'd have to do without side tabs). It's a small difference, but it just might be enough to do the trick.
I don't think I could do without the side tabs...the organizer in me would revolt! And the FC organizers just aren't as pretty as the FF ones, although I admit I haven't spent a lot of time checking them out. Are you using FC? Which one?
DeleteThanks for stopping by and commenting.
I think we all want the Harry Potter of filofaxes - pocket or mini for portability (or maybe that should be port-key-ability, I am such a geek)that when opened magically turns into A5 - my idea of heaven... Oh, and the rings? They should just be whatever size fits the amount of stuff you have in there at the time :-)
ReplyDeleteSounds perfect!
DeleteOn another note...are you f'ing kidding me? A FF display case with 42 (and I am sure a lot more by now)?! I bow down to you...My little collection of 17 (yes, I have added 4 more since I wrote about my collection less than a month ago!)seems rather puny now. I'd better start shopping...