How to create a unique dashboard for your Filofax - the Filofancy way!



How to create a unique Filofax planner dashboard


TRUST me... This is going to be the most useful thing you create for your Filofax.  Have you ever heard of such a thing as a Filofax dashboard?  



This is quite an old post, and planner dashboards are well-known now, although they have evolved a lot. But I still think this post has some unique ideas that you may enjoy ...


How to create a unique Filofax planner dashboard


If you are an active member of the online Filofax community then you probably have heard of planner dashboards because everybody is using them.

Most people tend to use the Filofax sticky-notes insert as their dashboard.  Well, as usual, I have an alternative and a rather clever way of creating a dashboard for your Filofax or other planner. 

Keep reading to find out more ...


What is a Filofax planner dashboard? 


If you still have no idea what I am talking about when I mention the term "Filofax dashboard", let me explain ...

Your planner dashboard your first port of call.  You open your Filofax - and there it is - with everything you need to immediately be reminded of. (Nowadays you may recognise it as an 'inbox')

Your dashboard can be decorative, it can be functional, or it can be both.

The most important thing about a planner dashboard is that you are able to truly make it your own so that it is appealing and useful.


How to use the Filofax sticky note insert as a dashboard 


Maybe you are wondering why so many people are using the Filofax sticky notes insert as a dashboard? (Or creating their own dashboard of sticky notes.)

Well, it is because sticky notes are the easiest way to write notes down, then tear them off and dispose of when you're done! It's a great pace to jot noted that you don't want permanently in your planner.

Because they are sticky notes, you can also tear them off and then stick them elsewhere in your Filofax to remind you of things later.


What makes the Filofancy planner dashboard different? 


I have come up with a fabulous idea for a Filofax planner dashboard. It's simple, affordable, reusable, and highly personalised. What more could you want from a dashboard?

Just purchase a Filofax business card holder insert - then use a credit card for sizing, and cut up a nice little pile of pretty coloured paper to slip into each pocket (as much as each pocket will hold). 

Now you have a great little note-taking system!

Dedicate each space to specific types of notes:

  • personal reminders
  • work-related mind-joggers
  • shopping lists
  • telephone numbers
  • websites

When you have finished with the note, take it out to reveal a fresh sheet of notepaper.

You can also use your dashboard to display photos and keepsakes, such as inspirational quotes to motivate you when you open up your planner. 

The pockets are also a great place to house your planner stickers, sticky tabs, paperclips, and anything else that fits and might be useful or cute in your planner.

I use my Filofax business card for sizing which came with my Aqua Chameleon A5 when I bought it.  It's ideal because I can either keep it attached to the rings in my Filofax or slip it into the dashboard itself, ready for when I need to cut up a few more slips of notepaper.






I don't know about you but I'm not so keen on the neon-bright colours of the Filofax sticky-note insert dashboard. 

The great thing about the Filofancy dashboard is that you can choose your own paper – coloured, plain, squared, lined, or dotted.

Use your dashboard pockets to keep reminders, to-do lists, or even to slip folded up bits of paper like receipts if you need to remind yourself to file them away later for your expenses.



how to make a planner dashboard for filofax


Store your stickers and paper-clips, like I  have below ...


filofax dashboard using card holder


What makes the Filofancy dashboard ultimately versatile is that you can modify the Flex jot-pad like I have in order to attach it to your dashboard for longer lists and notes that you may need immediate access to (see above).

I just took my Filofax sizing card and measured around it on the back cover of the flex jot-pad, and then I cut the back-cover so that it fits into the top card slot of the dashboard.






I use the underneath card slots to store my star-stickers and my little silver Waterstones bookmarks, which are very useful for marking pages in my Filofax when I don't want to forget where I have put them!




You can even make a mini index to remind you of what you have recently written and where in your Filofax you have filed your notes away. I am forever losing or forgetting things I have written down and filed somewhere in my fat Filofax, so this system is such a godsend to me.

My dashboard is now the first thing I look at when I open my Filofax.  It is my memory jogger, and it also directs me to the things in my Filofax I may otherwise have forgotten about.

You can also use the back of the dashboard in the same way because the cards insert is double-sided.






I am sure you will find many other creative ways to make the dashboard your own. Thank you for reading, and please leave your thoughts and ideas in the comments below, because I love to read them!



Until he next post ...









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How is Flex by Filofax better than a notebook?

What is Flex By Filofax?

If you are a Filofax traditionalist, you may be wondering exactly what is a Flex by Filofax? And why have Filofax designed a new planner system without rings? Keep reading to find out more about this new Filofax planner hybrid notebook system.



This is an older post and sadly Filofax don't make the Flex anymore. However, I hope that you still enjoy the nostalgia of this post and others I have written about the Flex.


What is Flex by Filofax?


The Flex by Filofax is essentially a very versatile notebook binder cover. It allows for a range of notebook/diary solutions.  The Flex has been designed to offer a large variety of notebook inserts and combinations - Supposedly offering more than a million ways to make the Flex your own.

(Yes, according to the Filofax Website, Flex offers more than a million ways to make the Flex your own!  I thought I'd repeat that whole sentence, because I'm still trying to get my head around it.)


Why is the Flex by Filofax so useful? 


Why bother with a Flex binder when you can just pop a notebook in your bag? I am sure this is what you are thinking. Indeed, before I discovered Flex by Filofax I had an ordinary notebook in which I kept my writer's notes, doodles, scribblings, and loose bits of paper. 

One of the most annoying things was that when I was out and about and a creative idea would grab me - I'd dive into my bag to get my notebook out and jot the idea down as quickly as I could before it escaped, but usually, during this process, most of my loose notes would fall out in my bag or all over the floor. And, of course, I could never find my pen!

Spontaneous note-taking was just a hassle.  I imagine it would be the same for an artist who spots something they quickly want to sketch before it moves or disappears.

Now that I have my Flex though,  I don't have any of these problems because everything is kept neatly together in one place. I can just pull the Flex out of my bag and know that I have everything I need on my lap, without having to wade through my bag for a pen or calculator.  

The Flex is just the perfect little portable desk for bus or train journeys to and from work.


Flex by Filofax organises your notebooks 


If you are anything like me having a notebook involves one notebook that is crammed with creative writing notes, fractured poetry, appointment reminders, shopping lists, random chapters for different novels I'm working on, menus, receipts I need to keep to claim back expenses for my self-employment - you know, basically absolute chaos.

Flex is the solution. The Flex notebook binder system allows me to keep a number of separate notebooks bound together in one place.

This is useful if like me you want to have a notebook for your writing notes and a notebook for your personal thoughts, because then you can keep your writing notes and journal thoughts separate but also together, if you see what I mean?

It also works if you want to keep a notebook for factual snippets of info, and one for creative writing – or a lined notebook for written notes and a blank one for diagrams, sketches, brainstorming and flow-charts.

Many people find it useful to keep their diary with them, or perhaps a yearly planner.  Flex has covered all diary options with Flex inserts.  You can create your own combined diary and note-taking system if you want, using the diaries and notepads designed specifically for flex.

Alternatively, you can slip your Moleskine Diary into the Flex along with any pretty A5 notebook of your choice. The options truly are never-ending.


How versatile is the Flex by Filofax?

 
It really is amazing how many different ways there are to personalise the Flex by Filofax.You can make it what you want and what you need.

At one point I think I had about 6 separate slim A5 notebooks in my Flex binder. You know the school exercise kinds that come in different colours?  Well, I had a different colour for each of my creative projects, which I separated with coloured tabs like you would in your Filofax.  When a notebook was full I could just replace it.

I do this now with my journal and writing notebooks.  Whenever I complete the A5 journal, for instance, I replace it in the Flex with a brand new one from Muji, and the old one is taped to the journal previous to it so that I can keep my old journals stored in chronological order. 

Why the A5 Flex is better than a notebook 


I thought I'd put together a little list of reasons as to why I think the Flex by Filofax is better than a notebook.

I hope you enjoy reading them. Let me know in the comments what you thought!

  • With the Flex pen-loop inserts you can keep up to four pens or pencils attached to your Flex Binder, ready for spontaneous note-taking, highlighting, and mark-making.  This means less fuss having to search for pens in a pencil case at the bottom of your bag, and less stress when you need to write something down quickly.
  • There are slots for business cards inside the Flex.  These are useful to pop your oyster in if you are in the habit of carrying your Flex under your arm like a clutch bag.  Or you can use these slots to store stickers, sticky-notes, small bits of paper, page markers (I like to use hair grips! Weird but discrete and they do the trick.) You can even use this space to clip extra pens.
  • The larger pocket beneath the card-slots is perfect for your smartphone, calculator, highlighters, slim diary, a packet of gum, etc.
  • You can also slip the front or back sleeve of a paperback book into any of the Flex pockets and carry your novel around with your notebook. This could be useful for students who need to take notes while they are reading – or if you want to read a racy novel on the tube!
  • The Flex protects your notebooks and prevents them from getting all dog-eared.
  • Loose bits of paper and receipts can be slipped into pockets rather than in-between pages where they are likely to fall out.
  • Instead of having to keep buying expensive leather-bound journals, you can have the same effect by replacing cheaper A5 notebooks in your leather-look Flex but not have to spend all that money if you're a fast writer like me and get through notebooks like loo-roll.
  • The Flex is smart looking. The black and grey versions look very professional and are great for work, conferences, meetings etc.
  • Flex is just so much more FUN than having one notebook!  It makes complete sense.


Thanks for reading – and don't forget to comment – I ALWAYS respond to comments, even new ones of=n old posts :)



Until the next post...








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Forget Kindle covers – use a Flex by Filofax!


I use my A5 Flex by Filofax as a portable writer's desk which houses my writer's notebook, my personal journal, and my Kindle eReader. The multifunctional nature of the Filofax Flex makes it a great Kindle cover too!


This is an older post and sadly Filofax don't make the Flex anymore. But I hope that you still enjoy the nostalgia of this post and others I have published about the Flex by Filofax.


Read more about my portable writer's Flex-desk here - How I use my Flex by Filofax


How I use my Flex by Filofax as a Kindle cover


I like to keep my Kindle with my writer's notebook because I always forward articles from the web straight to my Kindle using a Kindle 'push' extension on my Chrome toolbar.

I also email all of my edited manuscripts straight to my Kindle so that I can read through them as if they are eBooks, which is a much nicer experience than reading a word doc on my laptop.

It's so useful to have access to all of my research and written work while I am out and about, taking notes on buses and in coffee shops.

I would suggest always storing your Kindle eReader in one of the inside pockets of the Flex, to make sure it doesn't accidentally slip out and fall to the ground when you are carrying it about with you or taking it out of your bag.

If you are contemplating getting yourself an eReader I would definitely suggest getting a Kindle. I love mine to bits.





Have you read my fun Flex By Filofax Review in which I list all of the things I would love to improve about the Filofax Flex?



Short but sweet, see you in the next one!









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Filofolios - How to make a mini portfolio using a Filofax & Moo business cards

Find out more about Moo Printfinity


 When I love two great brands like Filofax and Moo business cards, it doesn't take long before I'm thinking of ways to combine the two. I may just have come up with a brilliant idea – a crazy, but truly brilliant idea. Keep reading to find out how you could use a Filofax and Moo business cards to create your very own portable mini portfolio for your creative business.


Are you an artist, a designer, or an illustrator?  Do you create or sell your own products or services? Are you a cupcake artist or pet portrait artist? Do you design and make your own hand-crafted purses?

Most importantly, do you have too many Filofaxes or extra planners you don't use, or are you trying to find an excuse to purchase yet another?  

Well, I think I may have the answer to your dilemma, and a creative solution for all you Filofax-lovin' Freelancers.


How To Make A Portfolio Using A Filofax


I'm always trying to think of new ways to use my Filofaxes.  I have four of them so far, and keeping four diaries of various sizes would be a sure route to madness and insanity - believe me, I've tried!

 I've recently gone self-employed and I am currently making hand-crafted jewellery to put pennies in my pocket. I needed a way to keep with me samples of my jewellery when I am out and about, just in case I happened to pass by potential clients or shops I might want to supply to.

 Well, how about this for a stroke of genius?

Why not make a mini portfolio using Moo business cards?


How to make a Filofancy 'Filofolio'


  • Get yourself a beautiful Filofax of your choice – go for pocket-sized or slimline Filofax to fit nicely into your handbag.
  • Put it all together and what do you get? A very cool, very portable, mini-image portfolio or product catalogue!


I know, I know... You can thank me later :)


Why use Moo business cards?


Moo provides this GREAT Business Card Service called 'Printfinity' where you can have a set of very attractive and professional business cards made for you.

What sets this company apart from others is that you can order a set of 50 cards and each card can have a different design of your choice printed on it!

This means that you can essentially create a mini-portfolio of your products to take around with you in you pocket. You will never be unprepared when it comes to promoting your business and products again.

Moo have already initiated this idea on their website. You can go and have a look for inspiration and more creative ideas on how to use moo business cards.

This is what they say:

"We developed Printfinity to help brands and businesses show off what they do. It’s a great way to feature lots of products, designs and images all in one pack. And it’s award-winning too – we’re proud that our printy invention has been recognised by Her Majesty The Queen."


But my unique, and if I may say so, totally genius idea is that by combining Moo business cards with a beautiful Filofax binder, you can create a truly personal and attractive little portfolio or product catalogue to take about with you in your handbag!

And you can also keep your standard business cards in there too, ready to hand out to your new clients once they have fallen in love with every image in your Filofolio.

God, I love it when inspiration strikes. 




Tell me what you think in the comments below – I LOVE to read your comments and I always respond, even to new comments on old posts :)



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Improving the Flex by Filofax : Review


The Flex by Filofax is a great product, I genuinely love it to bits. But wouldn't it be even better if Filofax did a bespoke service and you could literally design the ultimate personalised Filofax to work for you, exactly how you want it to?  It's nice to dream ...

This is an old post and sadly Filofax don't make the Flex anymore. However, I hope that you enjoy the nostalgia of reading about the Flex. Plus, it's interesting to see how some of my wishes came true – Filofax must have been listening!


We all use our planners in different ways so you may not agree with all of my points. But these are just the little alterations and improvements that would make the Flex work better for me:
  • I know they designed the Flex to be simple and universal, but they had better start thinking of some new cover designs soon!  I mean, there are endless possibilities - it hurts my head just to think about them.  I would personally like to see something classy and feminine.  I love the lace and leopard-print on the Temperley for example, it would be nice to have some similar fabric options for the Flex – that don't cost a fortune. Real leather would be great too. (They did indeed end up making a real leather version of the Flex!)

  • The jot-pad is soooooo in the wrong place for me.  I need it at the front on the left-hand side where I can have easy access to it.  I don't want to have to search for it behind all of my notebooks, do I? There should have been slits on both the right and the left hand-side so that we can choose what works best.

  • The pen-loops are rubbish.  Mine snapped in the first week of purchasing my Flex.  I was very upset and I haven't gotten round to buying a new pen insert because my Flex originally came with a black one to match the cover, but the replacements all seem to be grey!  I don't like the grey - That's why I bought black.

  • I wish there was a zip pocket somewhere.  Just a small one for loose change, perhaps on the front or back of the binder.

  • Sometimes I wish there was a built in or attachable concertina-style pencil case on the front, you know, for a rubber and pencil sharpener, sticky notes and other loose bits and pieces.

  • I'd rather like to have the option of having a slim ring-binder insert that you could slip into one of the slots and use the Flex like a normal Filofax as well.  But I guess it would make it too bulky. A slim optional insert wouldn't hurt would it? 

  • Filofax need to work on their insert collections for both the normal Filofax and the Flex.  I think this needs a dedicated post all to itself though.

  • It needs an elastic band around it to keep everything together!  Then you could slip loose pieces of paper in between pages and not worry about them falling out when you take it out of your bag. (Little did I know that the Traveler's Notebook would steal my heart a few years down the line!)

  • Wouldn't it be cool if there was a way to slot or clip two or three Flex binders together to make an ultimate FAT one with lots and lots and lots of options!  Perhaps not very portable, but fun for an option all the same.

  • It might be nice to design a Flex with clear pockets on the front and back so that you could slip your own images, photos, paper or material in and transform the look of your Flex whenever you feel like it!  This is perhaps my most genius idea so far, and if Flex by Filofax design something like this in the future I want my cut of the profits! (Filofax did indeed end up designing something customisable like this with the Clipbooks further on down the line, however, I did not get a commission! Grrrr.)


Well, I hope you have enjoyed my little review and suggestions for the Flex by Filofax. Let me know what you think, or if you have any ideas of your own, in the comments below - I can't wait to read them. (I ALWAYS reply to comments – even new comments on old blog posts!)



See you in the next post ...








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How I use my Flex by Filofax



Flex is a notebook system by Filofax. It is quite different from the ring system that loyal Filofax users know and love, so I have decided to share my thoughts and experiences in a planner review.



This is a very old post and sadly Filofax don't make Flex notebooks any more. But I hope that you enjoy the nostalgia of this blog post and others I have published about Flex by Filofax.


I'm quite surprised at how little blogging and blogging coverage the Flex Filofaxes get. I mean, I think they're pretty cool. I love mine. Not as much as my beautiful A5 Chameleon Filofax mind you, but the Flex does seem to make a lot more sense to me.

I think this is because I am used to using bound notebooks and diaries, and so I have found it difficult to adjust to the ring planner system. My Chameleon Filofax continues to baffle me, and I still haven't figured out a system I am happy with. Although I am determined to make it work.

If you are unfamiliar with the Flex, you may wonder how to use them. So I am here to share how I use mine.



The A5 Flex by Filofax as my writer's notebook 


I wanted something smart that would compliment my writing journal. 

My writing journal is a big fat A5 notebook I bought from Paperchase a while back. It has a soft bendy black faux-leather cover and lots and lots of tiny-squared paper for all my notes and scribblings. It fits perfectly into the A5 Flex.




I like to place it in the middle with the front and back cover of the notebook slipping into the slots of the Flex to give it complete support. It's such a fat book that it needs to be in the middle.

When I want to take some notes down on the bus or do a bit of creative writing when sitting in a coffee shop, the Flex would fall to pieces in my lap if the main notebook wasn't placed and held firmly in the centre of the Flex binder.


The A5 Flex by Filofax is the perfect Amazon Kindle cover 


I was very excited to learn that the A5 Flex cover is also the perfect size for my Kindle Reader.  

The flex is a great Filofax Kindle cover. I like to slot my kindle into the inside left-hand pocket, as you can see in the pictures, and I'll tell you why...




I used to slot it into the left outside pocket but I had a horrifying experience one day when my Kindle fell out! 

Okay, it wasn't that horrifying because it happened while I was indoors and it fell onto my sofa, but it was horrifying in theory. Kindles are not made for chucking about.

When kept in the inside pocket of the Flex like this though, it has no opportunity to fall out once the cover is closed and the kindle is safely tucked away inside.




Kindles are dreadfully delicate because of the screen which will bleed at the slightest knock.

When I first purchased my Kindle I had it in my coat pocket with my keys, and in the five minutes, it took me to walk home from the tube station somehow the keys had pressed into the screen and caused the ink to bleed underneath it.  I was mortified.

Luckily the kind Kindle people sent me a brand new one - Phew! The Flex protects my Kindle wonderfully as long as I keep it in the inside pocket where it can't accidentally escape.




Because I use my A5 Flex as my portable writing and reading desk I also like to keep a journal of personal thoughts that are separate from my creative writing notes. It's always good to have the journal with me to unload my mind in moments of clarity or confusion.


How functional is the Flex by Filofax? 


Yay for all the pockets! 

 The best thing about the Flex by Filofax is that there are so many options when it comes to how you want to set it up. 

This is similar to the Flexibility of the traditional Filofax in which you can set up sections as you please. 




With the Flex you can purchase different "inserts", which are essentially thin bound notebooks with various functions, and then you can position them in the variety of different pockets that the Flex has to offer. 

It's rather fun.

My A5 Flex by Filofax setup 


I like to slip an A5 lined Notebook from Muji (also black, in-keeping with my smart theme and pleasingly affordable) into the outside right-hand pocket so that it closes inwards and slips in behind my main Notebook. Underneath I have the jot-pad hidden away because I rarely use it, but you just never know. 

 (You can get a better idea of what I am trying to describe if you take a look at the main diagram at the top of this post.)

 Personally, I would prefer to have a slot for the jot-pad on the inside left where all the card slots are.  I don't really find these useful, although one or two wouldn't go amiss. 

But I don't see the point in having the jot-pad slot at the back of the binder where it is hidden. Surely it should be placed at the front for easy access?  Very annoying and such a waste, for me at least.





The remaining outside slot on the left-hand side I usually keep blank to stuff loose papers, flyers, notes or whatever I find when I am out and about.

Sometimes I use it to hold my Moleskine diary if I know that I might need it while I am out. But generally, my Moleskine stays at home with my ridiculously heavy but very beautiful A5 Chameleon Filofax. You can see how I use those two together here.




I have begrudgingly come to the conclusion that there is simply no point in doing my back in every time I go out by carrying my A5 Chameleon Filofax around with me.

So my compromise is that I transfer my slim Moleskine diary, which has all my info and appointments to my Flex when I am out and about 

It doesn't look quite as interesting when I pull out my black Flex as opposed to my gorgeous aqua A5 Chameleon Filofax, but it does make me look very professional and less frivolous, which suits me fine.





Flex Vs. Filofax ring-bound planners 


I think it's difficult to truly compare a Flex with a ring-bound planner because they are two completely different things, aside from both being planners. 

They work differently, and I think they are intended to suit different kinds of people.




The Flex is obviously smaller and less bulky. It is also lighter than a normal Filofax, no matter what size we are talking about, due to there being no rings.

The Flex can also probably fit a lot more items inside of it because it is so flexible and versatile. For instance, sometimes I pop my smartphone into the deeper slot below the card slots, which is very convenient.


Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave your thoughts on the Flex by Filofax in the comments below, I'd love to hear them – and I ALWAYS reply to comments, even new comments on old blog posts!



See you again soon!









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