07 April 2017

Free For All Friday No. 438

Earlier this week on one of my non-planner Facebook groups someone posted this photo with the caption:

Do you remember these things?, a fad of the 1980's called a 'Filofax'. A very over priced and bulky 'must have' accessory that promised to organise our otherwise chaotic lives.


I was quite surprised at first then I looked at the photo and thought.... I'm sure that is one of my photos... sure enough it was from March 2013!!

There was the usual 'Oh I found it on Google Images' but the responses to the post was quite mixed.

A lot of the people (99% men) said they had owned one at some time, very few said they still used one. Quite a few people said they had gone electronic and lost all of their data at some point or other.

They seemed quite surprised that I still used one! Of course I shared a link to Philofaxy!

What reaction do you get when someone sees you using an organiser?

But as usual it's is Friday.. where did the week go? So please feel free to discuss anything organiser related.

Have a great weekend.

9 comments:

  1. One of my friends had told me sarcastically that I don't have memory when she saw my planner. She is not my friend anymore. It was long before we had cellphones.
    What Facebook group do you refer to, Steve?

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    1. Dull Men of Great Britain!! I'm in the book they published last year!

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    2. I'd expect, whatever other shortcomings they may have, that DMC members and affiliates would be respectful of intellectual property!

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    3. He wasn't posting it for commercial gain so I allowed it! When I claimed it and showed the original it boosted the conversation quite a bit! Naturally I shared a link to Philofaxy

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  2. I actually had a magical Filofax moment a couple of weeks ago: I was sitting at a table with several parents while we waited for our kids to finish their after school activities. One of the moms was talking about their upcoming trip to an island off the west coast. She hadn't been there before, wasn't sure exactly where it was, or if they would have a good time. I've been loads of times over the years and had lots of info for her, right there in my (A5 Heritage) Filofax: I pulled out my map and showed her exactly where the island is, and showed her some road routes (more direct vs more scenic) to get there. I flipped to my business card holder and took out the card of a great restaurant in that area. I pulled my pen out of the pen loop, flipped to my dashboard to get a sticky note, and wrote down the name and contact info for the restaurant. One of the dads was enthralled by my whole system and said it was amazing. The following week when I saw him next he was still thinking about it and commented again on how cool my whole Filofax setup was! I was really pleased!

    But normally when I pull out my Filofax, I get no comments. I don't know if people think I look organized, overly fussy, or archaic. I don't care.

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  3. Most of my friends and business acquaintances know I'm a Filofax user and I don't get a lot of comments - it's just accepted. I think when people see it in action in a business environment they see how efficient it is. If I'm asked I have an explanation of why I've chosen to stay with paper, namely that it's a faster and more efficient way of recording, organising and retrieving information than any digital system I've yet come across. I think my confidence in the system tends to sell the idea. Like Laurie, however, I really don't care what people think - the system works, and that's all that matters

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  4. Either no comments, or people say "Wow - that's really cool - you've got everything in there!" (usually from someone FAR too young to have even been BORN in the 1980s!)
    Or, if writing a date in for a meeting etc (while I am already at the correct page, pen in hand)... "hang on, [scroll, scroll, scroll on their phone...] what was the date again? Oh, um... hang on... [scroll, scroll, scroll]... ah. Yes! I think..."

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  5. I work in Silicon Valley and I've never ever seen anyone use a paper agenda of any kind. If it weren't for the internet I never would have discovered the vast amount of like-minded folks who love their Filofax/Gillio/VDS/Franklin Covey as much as I do mine. I've tried many gadgets, I had every model of Palm Pilot made, and even an electronic organizer as seen on Seinfeld "The Marine Biologist" episode. All have failed and left me high and dry at one point. I first started using a Day Runner back in the 80s and then switched to Franklin Covey in the 90's. Now I have an embarrassing amount of binders which I seriously need to reduce. At this point of my rambling I've forgotten the question altogether and I'm going to post anyway instead of scrolling up and perhaps losing this post since it's not written on paper.

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  6. Does anybody knows if Filofax is going to make a Domino Soft in A5???

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