Filofax Set up: University Edition

Hello!

Long time no see!

I thought while I have a spare morning (before the madness begins of next week) I thought I might blog this, as it has been lingering around for a few weeks.

Here is my university set up for this semester - it is working really well.

Looking  a wee bit full :)



Dashboard - colour coding scheme, and removable tab labels sticky taped to the clear fly leaf

 

Closer view of my tabs

I have my to do list
my month and weekly view
My uni reference tab, and my Global Leadership Program info under the one tab.

First section - to do lists.
I started using these as a sort of brain dump type of system, I then go and space out the tasks during the week in my WO2P

Kikki k Medium Pages - Monthly View

Kikki K WO2P

 

 

Unit Outlines, printed and cut down to size 

Then in the back I have a map and a clear pocket with some mark it dots and post it notes :) 

Filofax 'My Week' - January Edition

It has been a looong time since I blogged what my week looked like in my Filofax, so instead of boring you to death, I thought I would just show you how I've been using my kikki k pages, and decorating with some new washi I have acquired.

Love these post it notes, which were sent to me via the secret santa RAK on the AUS and NZ Filofax Group

This was by far the busiest week I have had in a long time. Can you tell how busy I was by looking at how messy it is?

Here you can see the colour coding tab scheme I sometimes work with - it really worked so well over summer school. I also love love love this washi tape..

Ahh the week before exams! I spent most of it freaking out.

Hellish exam week! Thank goodness it is over!!!

So that's about it, nothing overly exciting, but thought I would just document this while I have no uni work to do, and am spending my first day off holidays catching up on things.

 

Week 44!

Helllllooo!

Another week down in the year 2013! Can't believe we are in November!

Actually I can and I can't, time has flown by, but in the last 11 months I have grown so much as a person. It has been 11 months since I left my fulltime job (which at the time was what I dedicated my life too), I started studying which I adore more then anything else in the world. I love learning.
I also have 'found myself' again. I have gone back to the person who I was about 6 years ago, with a much older, more grown up perspective of the world. I am finally coming to the terms that I am actually happy with myself. :)

So, I'll leave my ramblings for another day as they might be a bit heavy for a Monday morning.

Here is my week in my personal metropol. Things are winding down in terms of assessments for uni, but exam season is about to hit.  :/

I attended a fundraiser luncheon on Friday for a family friend who is living with cancer. It was such a lovely heart warming day.

I also had the arrival of my first ever POCKET FILOFAX!!!!

A huge thank you to Belinda for letting me re home her beloved Filofax. The cross style is the one I have been eyeing off ever since I discovered Filofax. I can't wait to start using her.

 

Kikki K 2014 - Inserts Review

So last week I purchased my 2014 inserts for my personal size. It was a snap impulse buy, but whatever.

I posted my 'haul' on facebook and had some requests to blog about my thoughts and do a pen test.

Let's get started!

My local store likes hiding these types of things on me, I can never find them and always have to ask. The packing the insets come in is nothing to write home about just a plain plastic slip, but for $15, one can't complain as that is cheap for inserts compared to the Filofax and Collins inserts.
I also love the fact they start in the first few weeks of December - right before uni starts for summer so I can use them sooner!

The only layout they offer in personal size is week on two pages which is what I have been using most of the year.

Hopefully you can see this clearly, these are 3am photos.
Each day has faint lines on it so you can write neatly, each day also has a birthdays line, so you wont have an excuse to ever forget.

Week on two pages layout
 

Monthly View

I don't know if I am going to use these, the boxes are tiny!!! It also makes it really hard to write in when you are left handed like me.
I think I may need to purchase the Filofax horizontal monthly inserts or make my own.

The Pen Test

I know a few people were interested to see what pens would bleed through, I was really surprised. The quality of the paper is so much better then the Filofax inserts and I also think they are better then the Collins inserts I've been using.

Now, I do not own a lot of fancy pens. I am a huge love of the Pilot Frixion range though.



Pens Used



Flip side, not as much bleed through, just a bit of shadowing - I can live with that



This is the flip side of the paper with it held up to the lamp in my room.

There is however one thing I find slightly annoying is that there are these black banners on certain pages. Nothing a sticker can't cover. I just find them annoying as it cuts out some of the writing space in the day. A nice gesture, just annoying.

Have you planned what you will be using for 2014?
x
 

Week 38!

Hello lovelies!

Here we are again for another week of planner stalking!

This week has been a loooong week! Even though we are on mid semester break from uni, there is no rest for the wicked! Also with the change of seasons I have had horrible hay fever, so I will be glad when that is over :)

In terms of decoration, this week I have played with my ice cream post it note set from Kmart, love these colours.
I love love love the sprinkle post it notes, so cute! It reminds me of eating fairy bread when I was a kid. (The squareish, oblong sprinkles were the best ones!)

You can see my colour coding coming into play, the pink writing is anything relating to one of my  Marketing classes, the green relates to my Human Resources class, as per the binders I created. I love colour coding, it makes life so much more easier to think in colour.

I'm going to do a trial next week using colours that are just related purely for decoration and see how I cope with that.

 

I am also loving being back in my metropol! I also love my new set up - I am now using my Filofax for notes during my uni meetings, shopping lists, you name it, it is going in here :)

New Filofax set up

With the year coming close to an end, I am gearing up my Filofax to take the abuse from exam period, end of uni projects, Christmas, holiday plans, you name it, it will go in here.

I have sadly had to move from my Adelphi slimline to a personal to accommodate the information that will be needed in the next few months.

After seeing this blog post I just had to use my kingfisher blue metropol, the colour is so stunning I love it!

So, let's stop rambling, let's get onto what you are all really here for PLANNER PORN (yes, I just said that)

Organised Chaos!



Who would have thought Manilla folders could be so pretty! These are from typo.
I got 5 for $5 so I don't mind cutting them up.  



My new Dashbord
I have a fly leaf over the top of this with a picture strip of my friends.



I have three main sections.
My diary is behind the dashboard and my second main section is my university tab.
The main section tabs stick out of the binder just a little, but I actually really like it.
I wanted that defined curved section from the folders.



Within this tabbed section I have my sub tabs.
On the Australian Filofax facebook group I asked the students out there how they used their planners to keep track of their uni deadlines as I feel like I was spiralling out of control.
I decided because we only have roughly 4 weeks of class time left I would just create a to do list instead of printing my unit outlines.

As part of my new colour coding system, I decided all uni related tabs need to be blue to match the divider.



Colour coding has been my new best friend!
This is my to do list, it is only two pages, which is great but daunting.
My colour combinations are based on my colours that are on my subject binders.



This is my next main section.
I opted for a bottom tab for a change, it also gives the definition between what is for uni and what is personal life things.



Here is a picture of my tabs so far in this section.
I picked the green tabs for all things in my notes section as part of the colour scheme.
This is what I have so far, but as the year goes on I will add in Christmas tabs, holiday tabs and anything else that is needed.

This system is a little different from what I was using before - this is really going to become a workhorse planner. I like the simplified setting as it provides a clear picture of what the main focus is and doesn't distract me.

 

I am surprised at how much I actually like the colours, I am normally a darker colour lover, as you might have noticed from this blog post.

 

 

So there you have it, new simple set up ready to get to work.  

 

 



 

Self Confession Time + Falling back in love with planning

Howdy y'all,

Long time no see right?

Well I am back after my few weeks hiatus, I have been super busy with uni, family, life, sickness (not me but family and friends) and all that life throws at you while you are making plans.
My absence really was due to my busy schedule, long days, long drives home and the fact that I feel into a planning funk.

I think over the past few months I have been trying to map out everything perfectly, which I have now come to terms with the fact that it doesn't suit me or my lifestyle.
I got caught up in the world of Facebook pages dedicated to planning and saw all these amazing people who had two even three planners on the go at the same time. I admire those people so much, sadly it really just doesn't work for me. I spent more time planning what I was going to do and very little time actually do it. So really it was counter productive.

I tried to organise my daily tasks, weekly tasks, monthly tasks, all in my beautiful a5 and use my slimline as my 'on the go' planner - sadly I wasn't very good at 'syncing' both of these.
I ended up wasting time by writing things down twice, some of my uni deadlines were almost missed and here I was scrambling at the 11th hour to finish what needed to be done.  After attempting to make this work again and again, I just can't get the hang of it. I have put it down as an experiment the didn't go as planned (ironic, isn't it LOL!)

As for falling back in love with planning, this was sparked by the Charleston Filofax Range. See review of the Pocket over at Philofaxy (See review).

I love love love anything 1920's and have finally finished reading The Great Gatsby and after seeing the Baz Luhrmann (who I have fallen back in love with) movie a bunch of times my obsession with all things 20's has gotten slightly out of hand.

In anticipation for this new range to be released (hopefully for Christmas!!!) I decided to create these dividers for my compact size when I finally get my hands on it! I shared these on Philofaxy facebook group a week or so ago, so sorry if this is nothing new to you.

If you haven't seen the facebook post I mentioned that these designs are actually rug designs that The Great Gatsby costume and set designer Catherine Martin (also Baz Luhrmann's wife) created for the movie.
I was dying to own one of these rugs, particularly the middle design, but at $4000 ish a pop my poor little uni student budget can't afford that. Nor do I have the space to put a giant rug as I still live at home. You can see Catherine Martin's home furnishers line here
Inspiration for designing and creativity can come from all types of sources.

So there you have it, confession session over and done with, and now you know about my crazy 1920's obsession, which is now coming full tilt as I now have been running around uni with pearls, dark eye shadow, dark lipstick and my turban hat on without a care in the world! Now, be a darling and fetch me a cocktail!




 

Week 31

Here is my week 31. 

I've had a busy week, uni started back up so I've been trying to wrap my head around what tasks I need to complete. 

It was also my best friends 21st birthday on Saturday, we kicked off celebrations on the Friday night with her family, then went out to the city with her work friends as everyone else flaked out at the last minute. I had such a fun weekend. 

As you can see Sunday I had scheduled in a recovery day- and I think I will be recovering all week. 

This week I have included my dodo pad type inserts that I made for my uni work, these stay at home open on my desk in my a5 

How I'm surviving in my compact

A while ago I blogged about my Filofax move to my compact Adelphi. (You can read my post here) I thought I would update you on how I am coping.

So as it turns out my Adelphi isn't actually a compact, it happens to be a slimline Filofax which means it has 11mm rings instead of the 15(?)mm rings the compacts have.

So, how am I surviving in a slimline? Quite well actually.

Here is a list of my contents in photo form. Guess who learnt fancy new photo tricks to make text appear on my photos.

1. Front page - this serves as my 'dash board' section. I love this image it came from a 2012 calendar. I've named her 'Tilly' as I read if you name an object, you give it a personality and therefore will be more inclined to use it more often. I thought my planner needed a personality and a mascot, so here we are.

There is also a top opening envelope attached by sticky tape to the back of the cardboard Tilly sits on. I use this for random items, sometimes when I pop out with just my planner I will slip my phone into the top opening envelope  

2. Two months worth of planning pages - I have two months worth of diary pages in my planner. I don't really need anything else as I have been on uni holidays for the past 4 weeks.

These tabs come from Collins. I keep the rest of my monthly pages and tabs for the rest of the year filed away in my personal metropol.

 

3. Diary Pages - of course like all planners I have my diary pages in between my monthly dividers. straight after my dividers I have the Filofax month on one page in personal size. I use these pages for random things and as you can see rarely ever remember to use them. I mainly record birthdays in here.

 

The next is my undated week on two pages again from Collins. I LOVE these pages, the paper quality is much better then the Filofax pages, and with Filofax stock in limited supply at my local Officeworks store, these will have to do :)

 

 

4. My university tab - Whilst I may have not been at uni for the last few weeks I have added to my uni tab in my planner to include more reference things.

In this section I have my semester dates for the year, my university's grading structure as I can ever remember them and finally I decided to hand write how to work out a percentage as a grade as I'm not very good with maths and I can never ever remember how to do it and sadly each time I get a report back I have to Google how to work it out.

5. Notes/Misc tab - This is the last tab in my planner. Here I have a few sheets of extra paper and random notes that I always forget.
I bought a new printer a few months ago and I can never remember which cartridges I need. Ink is very expensive in Australia, not sure if it is everywhere else. Normally I will recycle my cartridges or refill them. It never stops me looking at the price each time I pop to the stationary store.

 

6. Post -it notes and random bits - These are kept in the front pocket of the Adelphi. I have some tabs from post it, some lovely bright colours from Diaso, some more sticky notes from Officeworks in lovely pastel colours with things like 'shop for', 'today', 'don't ignore' I love the pastel colours in contrast of the bright ones.

 

There is also some index cards just in case I need to write something down for someone else. Oh and there is my parking fines - which I finally paid when the latters came in as the fine biller code had faded - lesson learnt in that case. I also finally purchased a parking permit for uni.

 So there you have it, I am really loving this system so far. Not sure if I will need to upgrade back to a personal size when uni starts back. We will see.


I also have an exciting new Filofax related purchase to come, hopefully just in time for uni if I do decide to upgrade to a personal.

*****WATCH THIS SPACE*****

 

Why all the neon?

So in the last few weeks I have noticed an increasing amount of neon stationary appearing on the market. post it notes, planners, folders, paper, you name it is comes in neon.

Now, I love my highlighters, my collection is growing monthly, I purchased some 'bright' post it notes for highlighting items in my diary but THAT IS IT!

Now, I am looking for some show of hands who agrees with me on this controversial statement. NEON IS TACKY!!!!  

 

 

Even Filofax have jumped on the band wagon of neon, seriously????

 

I envision Filofax as a classy English brand that professional people tote around the fancy streets of London. Not an insane hue of colour that is neon....

 

Brace yourself; here is an example -

 

 

 

 

 

I am sorry, but how is this classy???

 

 

It can never compete with the classiness something like this binder from Filofax.

 

 

 

 



 

 

Now, I can imagine a professional person carrying this during the lunch break from their fancy office job in London.

 

 

 

So there you have it, my rant is over. I know many people won't agree with me, and I by no means am your typical definition of classy. (A fancy Filofax helps though, right?). I am not writing this with the intention of upsetting anyone, I am hoping that I am not alone in the thought of this.

 

Now I will go an drool over some muted colour Filofax's. :)



Week 24

Week 24 has been an intense week. I have had my uni exams starting this week. My econ exam was on saturday at 8.50am! Yuck!

I think it will be a miracle if I pass econ. But so glad that is over.

My decorations come from my monthly wall planner. I love when a month finishes and I can cut the lovely flower designs off the bottom of the page to use in my filofax. I love the colours in this paper :)

I am also loving being in a compact planner! :D

Can I survive in a compact?

Yesterday I jumped on to the filofax website and came across the compact adelphi filofax, I looked at the price and almost fell over.

I have one sitting on my shelf that I paid 3 times less for it (win!)

I really love this planner, however when I purchased it I wasn't too sure what use it would have for me. up unitl now it has been used as a password, goals and random other things binder.

I got to thinking, I sometimes spend more time fluffing around 'planning' then actually doing. I am sure I am not alone in this.

Fed up with it, I decided to downsize back into my compact.

So what's in there now?

• My weekly pages for the next two months
• My university tab (which won't be needed after the next week because I am on holidays!)
• My skincare tab
• post it notes
• a few spare sheets of paper to write notes on

That is it!

I thought of taking out everything that I use on a daily basis and pop it into the adelphi filofax, I am shocked at how much I have in my personal sized planner that I don't actually use.

Let's see how long this lasts before I swap back.

Week 18!

Can you believe how quickly this year is going???

Last week was manic, assignments due, readings and quizzes!

I handed in my econ assignment, I will be lucky if I pass it! However so glad that is over!

I ended up pulling my first offical uni all nighter to complete the webpage and essay for my gender studies class.

Then the teacher decided to grant everyone an extension! Grrr...oh well its all over and done with!

On to the next lot!