Pam Alison Knits

I am deep into my summer slump, with a distinct lack of creativity and enthusiasm washing over me. July has been quite a slog, and here, hot on its heels, comes August. The good news is, I have a plan – a plan for planning, that is – which puts me way ahead of this time last month. In keeping with my self-proclaimed title of Queen of Delayed Gratification, this plan involves making changes at the start of October, surely one of the least intuitive months of the year in which to make a fresh start.

For August and September I will be using my Personal-size Filofax Holborn. The personalised diary insert which I ordered last year from the Filofax UK website is still going strong and the cover is looking pretty good after eight months of toting around in a variety of bags. As I’ve said before, this is a functional everyday planning companion, and the only complaint I have is that it just doesn’t hit the spot size-wise for me.

Waiting in the wings is my old A5 Filofax Original in the Fuchsia patent finish, a binder which has seen better days but still has plenty to be said in its favour. I am, and always have been, a fan of the Original’s simple design. The leather is sufficiently thick to avoid the dreaded droop when it is used away from the safety of a hard surface such as a desk. I have no beef with the elastic which is provided to hold pens, nor does it bother me that the card slots are primitive and kept to a very minimal two. I would quite like an Original cover in non-patent leather and it’s something to keep my eye open for. A couple of years ago Filofax released a deep-ish, denim-ish blue version and I thought “You’ll kick yourself if you don’t buy that,” but I was on a bit of a hiatus from Filofax. Now it seems to be sold out in the A5 size and I’m kicking myself.

Key to the making the change from Personal to A5 size was the diary insert, and you’ll be unsurprised to learn that I’ve gone through many changes of heart about this. In the end I ordered the personalised diary from the Filofax UK website as it allows for some options that just aren’t available in their main diary range. I chose the Cotton Cream paper with brown printing because I know from experience that it handles fountain pen ink quite well. The week to view/week on two pages layout was a given; it is far and away my favourite for A5 diaries. I opted for lines to be added, just as I did with my 2024 day-to-page diary in the Personal size. The line width in the A5 is just the tiniest bit more generous than in the Personal – 5mm as opposed to 4.5mm. It’s still quite tight ruling, but workable with the very fine nib on my Montblanc Slimline pen. From the standard choices, I also went for including moon phases and Christian holidays – the latter only because I wanted things like Christmas, Easter, and Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day) showing. I didn’t necessarily need to know the date of the Immaculate Conception, but I can live with it given that the font size is quite small.

The big feature of the personalised diaries is that you can add your own important dates, such as birthdays, anniversaries etc. I didn’t do that for my 2024 diary, but I took the time to add them for the new diary. You get a choice of ink colours for your personalisations, and I chose “my” dates to be printed in red. As part of the personalisation package, Filofax keeps your dates on record and if you want to order again next year you can just scan through, make any necessary changes, and not have to type them all in again. I found the whole process of setting up the order quite painless and relatively enjoyable.

For many Filofax users there is one compelling reason to choose the personalised inserts. This year, the company has introduced their Reminder App to link your diary with your mobile phone. It does this by having a miniature QR square for every single date in your printed diary; you scan the QR code to sync the entries for that day with the phone app. I haven’t heard anyone yet say this is a feature they want or will use. I have heard plenty of people say this is a travesty, wasting useful space in your paper planner. The personalised diary was originally Filofax’s only answer for anyone who wanted to forego the pleasure of the QR feature, but apparently they are manufacturing some diary inserts without it for those customers who don’t want to make the change.

Naturally, customisation comes at a price, and mine cost £25. That’s quite a hefty sum, but I felt it was justified to get exactly the paper quality and layout I want. The other thing I want to address is a point that cropped up on the most excellent Philofaxy (https://philofaxy.blogspot.com) website a couple of months ago. A lady in the USA had ordered a personalised refill and, when it arrived, the hole punching was a little out of alignment which meant the refill wouldn’t fit on the rings in her Filofax. I am happy to report that my insert was correctly punched and fits the ring spacing just fine.

I have left reference to one of the personalisation options until last: choice of which month the diary insert will commence. Whilst standard diary inserts tend to start in January or July, you can choose any month for your personalised insert to start, and your diary will run for 12 months from then. I ordered my insert on 23rd July and considered an August or September start before choosing October. I’m having my main holiday of the year in October and that natural break in the routine of life seems like as good a time as any to make a fresh start. Making that decision has prompted me to think that dividing the year into trimesters makes just as much sense as the more standard quarters. October/November/December/January covers the main festive periods rather nicely. February/March/April/May takes us through the long slog of winter into at least the hope of spring emerging, plus February is the start of my “personal” year. June/July/August/September is summer, and that’s traditionally the point where I start to get a bit fed up with things and ready to think about fresh starts.

I’ll just wrap up what has turned out to be a review of the Filofax Personalised Diary inserts by mentioning timelines. I placed the order on the morning of Tuesday 23rd July and got my first notification of dispatch from Whistl (the postal service Filofax UK seems to be using nowadays) late at night on Friday 26th July. The package was waiting for me when I arrived home from work on Tuesday 30th July, so exactly one week. I reckon that’s not bad going at all.

I hope you have a plan for your month and that you have some fun things in it to make for a memorable August.