In two earlier posts (HERE & HERE) I explored my Filofax and how it worked for me. One of the comments that was left was that it seemed complicated. I then thought, Was it?
I looked again at my structure and realised that perhaps, just ever so slightly it was and perhaps I should merge some of those sections together. Those sections could be merged because as long as I could find things then that was the most important; and no one else used my Filofax anyway.
I planned to live with my structure for another few weeks then to review. In the meantime, I read another Filofax post, where the writer commented that she was wrestling with her Filofax. I got a sense that like me the writer of that post simply had to have her Filofax just right. She used the wonderful expression of “her brain on paper” and I thought that is exactly what my Filofax is to me.
So, the final decisions for this Filofax is the following layout –
- Notes – including book titles,book reviews, websites etc.
- Expenses – keeping track of family history subscriptions and payments to professional bodies.
- Personal – birthday list etc
- Projects – here is where I record ideas for blog posts and keep a note of specific posts are to appear on various sites
- Genealogy – here is where I keep details on various research lines, or ideas for research
- Work – a mixture of CPD opportunities, research clients, and other professional review work
I clean out my planner regularly, too – usually at the end of each month. Otherwise it would burst at its seams!
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Lesley, thanks for your comments, support & the link to your earlier post. I have read it & plan to leave a further comment. You might be interested in a post that will be published as part of my Across the Pond series at The In-Depth Genealogist, you'll see the resemblance when it's published. I will tweet the link!
I usually clear my Filofax out weekly as I seem to be a bit of a squirrel!
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I guess we all work with what suits us best. I don't like carrying around anything other (even?) a tiny notebook and my phone for appts. Even working fulltime that didn't cut it. My whiteboard is my thinking space. Everything else goes in my head -which probably says a lot about the state of my mind!
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I applaud your commitment to your Filofax.
I guess we all have a mini filing system to carry around with us, but I have had a 'letting go' moment. It happened the day Mom died and I have been liberated. I hope you don't mind me posting the link here. http://livingwithmomscancer.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/funny-thing-happened.html
Do you have plans to clear out your Filofax periodically?
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