Part 2 - Filofax setup – my 'notebook' section


Wecom to part 2 of my Filofax planner setup. Read Part 1 to find out how I have paired my Flex with my Filofax, and also how I created a useful planner dashboard. Next we'll look in detail at my notebook section ...


Why have a notebook section in your planner?


I'm a writer, and I think every writer must have a 'notebook' section in their Filofax or other everyday planner. It's a convenient place to jot down notes and thoughts throughout the day.

For me, it's important to make it a beautiful personalised and inspiring space in the planner, instead of just chucking in a wad of loose blank paper inserts. When I open my notebook section I consider it to be 'me-time' and so I find it a very enjoyable space in my planner.

You may like to use your notebook section as a personal journal to jot down thoughts that come to you throughout the day. Alternatively it might be more of a general commonplace notebook, in which you jot quotes and snippets of info to keep safe. 

I've personalised my Notebook section divider with some quotes that inspire me as a writer. Many of us love to express our personalities and interests int a Filofax or planner so that we feel at home and comfortable and want to spend lots of time in them.  I think the more your planner reflects who you are, the more you are likely to use it to its full potential.  


Create secret pockets in your planner!


You can see in the picture below that behind this divider tab I have taped some secret paper pockets to hide loose notes in.  


I love anything that's a little bit mysterious, and having secret spots to hide things that are a little bit more personal, like passwords or private poems and letters can be useful. 

When I was younger I used to have a fascination with things like keys, and secret compartments in furniture, or loose floorboards where I could keep a secret stash of trinkets.  Perhaps that's why I'm so attracted to Filofaxes with all of the pockets and sections.

pockets are really useful. If your Filofax is fairly simple and you don't have many pockets in the actual cover, you can get creative like I have. 


Here are some ideas:

  • Hole-punch envelopes to use as pockets in your planner
  • Tape pages together and leave the side open to slip notes into 
  • Make your own secretary pocket inserts out of your divider tabs
  • Create fold-out inserts with extra pockets for stickers and sticky notes

Write notes to yourself, fold them up and slip them into the secret pockets in your planner and then forget about them. It's always such a delight to discover something months down the line that you had completely forgotten about. A bit like burying a little tin of treasures and then digging it up years later.


My main notebook section


After the secret pockets in my planner I have a wad of lined and plain notepaper for my notebook section.  I write down my ideas and thoughts, and scribble all sorts of nonsense.

It's a place I often have to return to to declutter and top up with more paper.

 At the end of my notebook section I have a few permanent sheets for jotting down useful websites, which I mark with a pretty pink bookmark that I got from Paperchase for easy access.


I also use random paperclips, bookmarks and sometimes even hair grips to find certain sections in my planner. It's a kind of secret system that only I know how to use, which is useful for privacy. 

I don't really like the idea of a stranger being able to open up my planner and see a tab that says 'personal info' or 'contacts'. Why make it easy for people to access private content?

Well, that's really all I have to show you about my notebook section. I hope you enjoyed taking a peek into my setup. Please leave your comments – I love to read and respond!


See you in the next post!









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Part 1 - Filofax Setup - How I use my Flex with my Filofax and a Dashboard


To celebrate the beginning of a new year I have decided to move into a different filofax for a fresh start ... 


Sometimes a change is nice and refreshing. Plus, I've been dying to break in my new Personal Aston for a while now. It's the yummy chocolate-coloured one – Read about how I discovered it here.

The first thing I did was de-clutter. It is amazing the amount of junk you can accumulate within the pages of your everyday Filofax. 

I decided to remove every sheet I haven't looked at in months, which meant removing half the tabs too – I was brutal, and I only kept what was absolutely necessary.


Tips on how to minimalise and declutter your planner


  • Take absolutely everything out first – this will give you a nice blank canvas
  • Then go through with a fine-toothed comb – only returning essential inserts and things that bring you joy.

These two steps will help to make the task of decluttering your planner feel more thorough. Plus, it will leave you with a clearer idea of everything that your planner contains, the order of things and you'll end up feeling that little bit more connected to it – which will hopefully help you to use your planner more effectively!




Looking at my new set-up, you wouldn't know that I spent hours de-cluttering - it still looks pleasingly packed! We all love a nice fat Filofax, don't we?


                   


How I pair my Filofax with a Flex


I like to use my original Filofaxes and my Flex Filofaxes together (read more about that here!)  

So, I am currently using my personal Aston Filofax with my magenta slim Flex slipped into the inside pocket, so that the Flex flaps open when I open up my Aston.  

Why? Well, firstly because the colours look so yummy together – the magenta matches my pink pencil, and colour coordination and accessories make me happy. Also, adding the Flex to my Filofax gives me more options.

For example, I find it very convenient to slip in a Flex jot-pad and use the pockets in the Flex to store random bits and pieces. 

As you can see below, I have personalised my jot-pad with a newspaper cutting that says "Why Women Can't Resist a List" -  It sums me up perfectly.



I tend to use the jot-pad for 'rip-out, screw-up and chuck-away lists' - Such as want lists, shopping lists, to-do lists...  Which reminds me, I need to buy more jot-pads, they run out so quickly.  

They are very useful though, especially when kept at the front of my Filofax. I find I use my jot pad a lot more when it is at the front, rather than when it is at the back. I don't know why Filofax always designs jot pads to go at the back of their planners.

If you want to make use of all the pockets in the Flex, including all those card slots on the left-hand side, rather than slip the left-hand side of the Flex cover into the inside pocket of your Filofax, you can just keep the Flex stored at the back on the right-hand side of your Filofax, behind all your usual inserts.  I don't find that it slips out because the pen-loop sort of keeps it in place when the planner is open.


Use your flex as a portable sticker station


At the moment I buy specific stickers for my personal Filofax which is my everyday organiser, and specific stickers for my A5 which is my business organiser, but it would be ideal if I had a portable sticker station that I could transfer to whichever Filofax I am taking out with me – I think the Flex slimline is the perfect solution!

Because of all the pockets, there are plenty of places to slip stickers into. If you're feeling particularly creative you could even design some sort of envelope book system in which to store stickers in the Flex.

Then just transfer your Flex over to whichever Filofax you're using, and you'll have all of your stickers with you.


More creative uses for using the Flex with your Filofax


  • Store extra things – like stamps, sticky notes and receipts
  • Hold extra notepads to keep notes separate – a journal, poems, transferable calendar
  • Extra pen loops – with the added bonus of them being elastic for fatter pens!
  • Shopping lists – it's easier to hold the Flex than a bigger Filofax in the supermarket

The idea of using a Flex to accessorise your Filofax might seem a bit weird, but as you can see from my photos, the Filofax closes perfectly well with the Flex inside, so why not?  


My new planner dashboard


Moving on from the Flex ...

I've posted previously about how to create your own planner dashboard using card-slot inserts - but here I use a slightly different system.

I have a 'front sheet', which is a pretty patterned insert sandwiched between two pieces of acetate and clipped together using metal page markers.

I slide in a sticky note pad which is kept in pace using the metal bookmarks.  I can then use this to jot reminders or notes and move them into the areas of my organiser that they relate to.


Behind the 'front sheet' I can also slip loose notes into the book marks, or stick sticky notes on the acetate sheet opposite ...
It may not be how you would incorporate a dashboard, but it's working for me right now. I think that's the most important thing – personalising your planner so that it works for you.

Most of the satisfaction is in getting creative and discovering how your planner can function in a bespoke way. We all have different needs and different ways of doing things, and a personal planner is a great way to express yourself.

So I highly recommend reading blogs like mine for inspiration, collect ideas and then adapt and apply them to your own planner system.
In Part 2 of my new Filofax setup I will be talking about my Notebook Section.


See you over there!





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