My Filofax Personal Domino

So about a month ago, I did something I never thought I would do.  I caved and bought a filofax.  I'd been reading about them and seeing them in movies since I was a kid and was very curious about this sophisticated adult planner.  I remember going to a bookshop one day to look at the binders and thinking, nah, not for me.  They were lined up in a glass case in the corner and I thought they were fairly boring and had nothing on the brightly coloured Paperchase organisers we used to buy from Borders for school.  

Recently though, my cheapo spiral bound organiser hasn't been working too well.  Apart from it being a little bit too big, it didn't have enough pages for miscellaneous notes and things that I needed to write down at meetings or when sudden inspiration struck.  It was annoying to have to carry random notebooks for random purposes.  They made my bag heavy and if I didn't bring the notebooks out, things didn't get written down.  

I thought about getting a planner that would be completely customisable and where I could put in as many pages as I wanted for as many sections as I wanted and hey presto, the filofax presented itself as the perfect solution.  

Shortly after I bought my filo at Kinokuniya, I realised that there is a huge community in blogs and on youtube dedicated to the planner.  (If you're interested, start at the awesomeness that is Philofaxy.) It's a lot of fun and even a little bit crazy - people make inserts and printouts that you can add to the planner, there are videos showing massive filofax collections (I can't imagine keeping track of more than one) and even vlogs and blogs explaining how to decorate and personalise your Filofax.  

While I'm not at the stage of naming my filofax as some enthusiasts are wont to do, I have to tell you, I flippin' love the thing.  I use it almost obsessively and while it was pretty pricey, it was worth every penny.  

I bought the Domino in the Personal size in a really cute colour that I think is called Violet (online there are at least three different colour names that look exactly this shade to me).  A5 is just too big to carry around for me, and the Domino is not real leather unlike some models that can go into a couple hundred dollars (!) so it was a lot more affordable.  

As to the setup, I removed all the miscellaneous sheets of paper and random alphabetised tabs to try and keep things as sleek as possible.  In their place, I bought extra lined paper and the filofax balance sheet insert for my finances.

  

The left hand side of the binder has card slots so I've put in cards that I'm not generally whipping out every day like my IC or debit card.

The first page of the whole organiser is a plastic flyleaf which I dig because I can put post its on it.  Behind it, I have a plain sheet with my very basic colour coded system and random washi tape and sticker decoration.

"Sucessful organising is based on the recognition that people get organised because they, too, have a vision."

Beyond the first couple of pages and my personal information, I have a bunch of random things I put in with a hole punch - a quote from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (best vampire franchise ever) on some scrapbooking paper and behind it, a mugshot that my brother gave me as a joke.  (He's going to see this and plotz because he doesn't know I've displayed it yet.)  The next picture is a shot of Shirin, Edie and Trux from when we were in San Francisco at the California Academy of Sciences.

The next thing I have is a fold out year calendar from Popular.  One great thing about this enterprise is that Popular has organisers in the same size and so there is a wide variety of refills that can just be transposed.

Finally, we get to the bit I use most - the diary pages.  

This is a sample of what the pages look like before I actually start to use them.  I divide each day into two and draw lines on one side.  The lined bits are for my to-do list and the blank bits are for appointments, events and a log of my exercise and diet each day.

I love decorating the pages with washi tape and stickers; my mother says I'm mentally eight years old.

Amanda bought me the pastel alphabet stickers.  The black "Today" ruler came with the filo.  It's a detachable one that I just keep stuck in the week that I'm on so that I can find my place easily.

Here are some other random pages I pimped.  

I love the washi tape doodle with the faces on it; it cracks me up that they are looking at each other.  Also a big fan of lizards, so the plump, psychedelic lizard stickers really get me.

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination." -- Oscar Wilde

 After the diary, I have lined notepaper and tabs for different sections like work, so I can take notes during meetings, personal, for whatever random jotting down I need to do, and finances.  This system really works for me because now I just have everything in one binder and if I want to rip out or add more pages, I can.  Packs of lined refills cost something like $4 and I still have lots of extra sheets sitting around.

The last thing before the end is a laminated fold out world map with capitals and major states or cities which is going to come in really handy for class.  On the flip side, there are time zones.

Finally, there are clear plastic pockets in the back for stickers and page markers.  The filofax came with one clear pocket (I think most filos come with one) and I bought another.  This is another invention that I love.  Some people buy pockets with a sliding zip so that they can put in pens and stationery.  There are so many uses for them - receipts, post-its, photos, notes people give you, even the really skinny rolls of washi tape fit in there.

The backing of the Domino comes with one long pocket and I put important receipts in there till they can be cleared out or till I can file them elsewhere. 

That's pretty much it for my filofax.  I try to keep the setup clean, simple and intuitive (for me) and as I've said, I'm enjoying it and getting a great deal of use out of it.  I hope to be able to use it for a long time to come.

Oh, and of course, the proof of my undying devotion...