15 October 2017

What types of planners belong on Philofaxy?

Before you leap to the comments below... I'm using planner in a generic sense here, all types of paper planner no matter what sort/brand/type.

So for the purposes of sorting blog posts/videos in to the either Philofaxy or Travellers Notebook Times,(TN Times) I come across lots of blog posts/videos that are 'planner' related.

Quite often people will change from using an organiser and start using a travellers notebook or vice-versa. And then there are other types too. But more on those in a moment. 

So how do I decide/or should I decide which type goes in which version of Web Finds? 

Here is how I think it should be:

Philofaxy:
  • Filofax and other brands of ring bound organisers - Philofaxy
  • Disc bound planners/notebooks - Philofaxy
  • Any future type of planner that can have the pages removed and replaced individually - Philofaxy
  • Any posts that could be applied to a ring/disc bound system equally as their intended design in one of the other types. e.g. a printed insert in one of the common sizes. 
  • Posts about organisation, time management etc. 
  • Occasionally posts that over-lap both categories of Philofaxy and TN Times
Travellers Notebook Times (TN Times):
  • Travellers Notebooks(TN) - TN Times
  • Bound planners e.g. Quo Vadis hard and soft bound diaries and notebooks - TN Times
  • Coil bound planners e.g. Erin Condren Life Planners - TN Times
  • Any posts that could be applied to a bound system equally as their intended design in one of the other types. e.g. a printed insert in one of the common sizes that could be used to create a TN booklet. 
  • Posts about organisation, time management etc. 
  • Occasionally posts that over-lap both categories of Philofaxy and TN Times
Please leave a comment below if theres anything I've missed or you think it should be different.

Thank you. 

10 comments:

  1. Absolutely! I’ve always thought the demarcation question is “can individual pages be removed and reinserted in a different place?” If they can - it’s Philofaxy! So a Filofax Notebook (with punched pages) would be great here but not a Midori Travellers Notebook with serrated rip out pages.

    The term “planner” has come from the USA and often now used to describe any type of organiser or notebook that includes a diary - whether ring bound or not. For me the planner is just the diary/calendar section (or tab) of an organiser. Non-planner sections will include addresses, to-do lists, information etc.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree with the criteria for Philofaxy - pages should have the option to be removed, re-inserted, reorganized, sorted, etc. That is why ring bound planners have always resonated with me. Systems like the bullet journal fascinate me because I'm drawn to filled notebooks, but I can't get on board with collections, and information that would need to be carried and recopied over to a new notebook. That just defeats productivity and time mgmt purposes to me.

    As for TN, I agree with all but the ECLPs. Some may disagree with me on this, but just about every EC planner photo/post I've come across is more about decorating and memory keeping rather than straight-forward planning. Finding pure planning posts/videos are very hard to come by. Finding functional planning content amid the unboxings, plan with me's and flip throughs, are like looking for a needle in a haystack.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I tend to agree with you about the ECLP ones. At present I don't have anyone in the system that only blogs about them! They mainly tend to be You Tubers, so easily filtered out, especially when there are plenty of other relevant videos that can be included.
      Posts that don't get included in with web finds sometimes will get added to one of the Flipboard magazines I edit, so we don't waste too many electrons!

      Delete
  3. I'd quite like to see functional planning in an ECLP but I think they are rare! However, sometimes I do get a new idea from a decoration post that I can adapt.
    I think it would be easy to ignore posts that don't appeal to you, but much harder to decide to include a post based on the type of planning.
    I agree with the idea of moveable pages being on philofaxy and anything bins being on tn times.

    ReplyDelete
  4. For Philofaxy, I feel the criteria has to be on Filofax and related type organisers with rings and pages that can be moved around. Any post, blog or video about decoration are a definite no no for me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The breakdown seems to be quite logical in defining where diaries/planners go. Diaries with removable/relocatable pages definitely belong on Philofaxy. Fixed page diaries belong on TN Times.

    I will admit to being confounded by the ECLP crowd. I find myself sucked into these "plan with me" videos and watch people plaster their pages with stickers and wonder why one must put stickers on pages and then write on the stickers instead of just writing directly on the page.

    To each their own. I'm a person who prefers a crisp diary page that allows me to write what I need wherever I want. There is something quite satisfying at seeing how that morning's blank has filled up throughout the day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think the ECLP looks like a great outlet for scrap booking/memory keeping and a way to go to town with stickers, stamps, washi tape and all kinds of ephemera.

      But in a planner where my eyes need to pick up on certain things, my focus would get lost. I can easier see 'Dentist 1:00pm' rather than a cute sticker of a tooth with 1pm next to it. I can assure you I'd miss that appointment!

      As someone said above, functional ECLPs are probably hard to come by on SM. There are a few blogs/YTers (Giftie Etc and Patty Gardner) who focus on function and are a joy to watch. I have to admit that when I come across a new planner video and it's exploding with pink unicorns and pom-poms, sparkle stickers and such as soon as they open the cover, I click off. Again, it's most likely my focus issue that gives me anxiety seeing a planner page so crammed with pretty things. But if someone can navigate through all that and get stuff done then kudos if it works for you.

      Delete
  6. While I tend to be lured by the appeal of the Hobonichis, bullet journals and other planners of the day, I always find myself coming back to ring bound or disc-bound planners.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too! I've been using a Filofax Pocket Malden since 1/16 and, per Kent From Oz, use the inserts from a deconstructed Moleskine weekly diary (week on left, notes on right) I'm year 2 into using those inserts and same system which is like second nature to me, a good thing because having to agonize over my planner setup, decorations, etc. would derail my productivity.

      However, this past month, I began to crave more room. I'm toying with upsizing to a personal size, but only if I find the right one. I love the Malden because of it's softness and flexibility, but the only ones I can find online now are Ochre (which I have) purple and Kingfisher blue. On the hunt for rare black or gray, but no luck so far.

      Because I love the layout of the Moleskine inserts, I bought a large one intending on using that as my planner and my Malden as my wallet/reference/contacts/mobile filing cabinet. I began to set it up for next year with all events, due dates, etc. but it's not resonating. Flipping through rings is like a calming cup of tea!

      So, I've decided to use the larger Moleskine as either my work planner, diary or next year's garden journal (I love it so it won't go to waste!) and will be buying another pocket size to take apart and hole punch.

      What can I say - continuity keeps me same!

      Delete
    2. I love the idea of the bullet journal, but I HAVE to be able to move pages around and get rid of unnecessary information, so rings for me!

      Delete