Organizers

Do you use them?

I'm specifically thinking about Filofax "systems" and their ilk. I've got this sudden itch to own one, but they're rather pricey and I'm wondering just how useful it would really be.

I've always kept a personal diary or journal, and I'll continue to do that. I'm not thinking that the Filofax would replace that. I also keep a reading journal, just to keep track of what I'm reading and the number of pages I read per day. This year I'm using one of the Reading Woman engagement calendars by Pomegranate.


It's lovely, with nice smooth, heavy pages for writing, and reproductions of thirty-two paintings that show women reading. And it helps keep this woman reading - the days I don't do any reading are left blank, and I really hate seeing those empty spaces.


But I'm thinking the Filofax would come in handy for organizing more than just my reading life. This year is likely to be a big one for me: hubby retiring, selling the condo (I hope!), buying a new home, moving, and exploring a new area. My year will almost certainly be exciting, but also hectic and chaotic: lots of work and planning and travel and appointments to keep. So you can see I really need that little leather notebook with all those cute - I mean useful inserts and accessories.

Of course, I could use my iPad for all that. Or my "smart" cell phone. They've both got calendar and planner capacities. But I guess I have to admit that, for all my fascination with the new technologies, I'm really a pretty confirmed pen-and-paper type. There's just something about a hand-written list on a real sheet of paper - something visceral that electronic devices just don't provide.

Basically, of course, it's just that I've been bitten by the Filofax bug and I've just got to get my hands on one. And I find I'm not alone in my fascination. I had sort of assumed the non-electronic organizer was a thing of the past. Not so. After doing a little googling, I found there are still loads of people devoted to their Filofaxes, Day Runners, Day-Times, or Franklin Coveys. There are "fan" groups on Facebook and Twitter. There are even Flickr groups, with hundreds of members who've uploaded thousands of photos of their beloved (and lovingly customized) planners. (See Philofaxy, Filofax Joy, For the Love of Filofax, Filomaniac, and Filofans.)

So, after much dithering and hair-pulling, I've finally decided to take the plunge. Now, of course, comes all the dithering and hair-pulling while I decide on style, size, color, where to buy, etc. That's going to be a problem because there's a lot to choose from and I don't do well when I have too many options. Looks like I've got a little more googling to do.

Cross-posted at Joy's Blog.