So there's some boring background at the end but basically instead of a pricier Filofax I got the following planner and I'd like to share my first impression
"Paperchase Dark Brown Personal 13-14" 18 month - July 2013 to December 2014 - for £16.00
As you can see, it came in this real sturdy box but had a transparent plastic lid which I threw out, but the base will come in handy for storage. The organiser itself feels like faux leather but personally I think it looks very deceiving. There was an array of designs but I wanted something professional looking that I could take to work and not have people think "what is that bright wacky thing that girl is carrying around"
So it came with the dividers at the front and a whole bunch of pages as follows:
Can someone please tell me, what's the difference between agenda, planner and diary? Because I'm stumped!
Firstly, there was a personal data page, which I won't show you because I already filled it in. Its handy if you lose your planner. Unlikely but it could happen and if you use your Filofax/planner/diary effectively, it could get quite tricky to stay on top of things if it was to disappear, so the faster you get it back the better!
Stupidly, I wrote everything in, then I realised what if someone steals my bag and uses the info to get access to my cards, or ID fraud, or anything!? So I'll make a new one soon, anyway I've listed what it lists and what I would enter:
name: yes
address: no
telephone: home
mobile: yes
email: yes
in case of emergency, contact: yes
telephone: yes.
There were so many different date based pages. Of course the calendar page is handy, as in theory is the dates page, but then you have the planner page too, which is just a compact version of the dates but with the individual days, and then of course you have your week on 2 pages diary which is essential for a basic planner.
I would use the planner pages to show birthdays, weddings and other major events I guess, it's good to see it all in one view, so I have to find a separate use for the dates pages... otherwise its just repetitive.
It also came with a handy timetable page - because everyone wants to see their week begin on Thursday and end on Wednesday, right?! But other than that clumsy oversight, I think this could be great for students.
At Sixth Form and Uni we ran on a 2/4 week timetable so that could be achieved by splitting the pages in 2-4 sections. There are actually 2 copies of the week to a view so you could just have them on separate views. I would keep a little bookmark/paperclip to mark the week I was on too, but I'm not a student so this brilliance is lost on me.
Of course you can use this for regular routines, so if you have set hours for work (I don't), if you like to go to the gym on a particular day at a particular time, if you have a regular social or committee meeting etc. I can also see the merit of recording certain other personal routines, to mark when you get your hair done, waxing, nails, when you need to write/post your blogs or youtube videos and even for things as mundane as chores.
Next you have your names and addresses - it's disappointing that these aren't indexed alphabetically and there are very few sheets, but realistically how many addresses are you going to want to carry around with you at all times. I might split these into alphabetical order myself, and also stick in a website page, cause why not.
And then you have your white lined, grid, plain salmon/peach and blue lined note paper. Absolutely necessary but I hate how the white lined paper is headed "notes". What's the point. And is there any significance to those colours used? I have a blue lined notebook because I love the colour. I remember when I volunteered with a solicitor, accounts in and out where separated by blue and pink paper. I don't know which is which!
Anyway I put everything into my faux filofax in the following order:
Information: personal info page, calendar
Agenda: erm??
Planner: dates pages, year planner pages, timetable
Diary: just the standard diary pages, the whole 18 months
Addresses: you guessed it
Notes: right again
Ok that's the introduction to the store bought planner from paperchase done. If you want to look at getting your own, here's their website. Keep in mind there are also DIY options, which I hope to do a post or 2 on later, if you aren't sure the paperchase format is for you. I'll have more on the inserts I bought and the inserts I made soon!
Here's the boring background bit: I got a new job! It wasn't easy, there were many just-to-keep-me-going type jobs in between, including a period of working for free, temping, working in sectors I've no interest in etc. But now, where the unemployment rate of the country is 7.7%, and in my own city 10.9% of the residents were claiming unemployment benefits last month, I have emerged triumphant!
My former colleagues at my temp job rallied around and kindly got me a gift card for Selfridges and my first thought was, of course, make up! Second thought, Krispy Kremes! but then i realised, oh my goodness, Paperchase in Selfridges stock Filofaxes!
However, when I got there, I noticed there were several dupes by Paperchase in an array of designs and for less than half the price. I could have got 2 or even 3 planners from Paperchase with the whole gift card but I controlled myself with just this one.
Feel free to leave comments or questions!
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