Free for All Friday No. 882 by Eve

I’ve done a LOT of thinking lately about my tendency to planner flip-flop throughout the year and how I seriously do not want to continue with that pattern. While it’s fun for social media posts, it’s not fun for my bank account!  Not only is it expensive but it’s also wasteful, since I don’t use most of what I purchase for the entire year, if at all.

So, I decided to draw a line in the sand for the coming year and commit now to ONE SIZE binder and ONE SET OF INSERTS. I'm not saying I won't make use of binders that I already own in one size, but I won't change in and out of different sizes during the year.

After much pro/conning, here is what I’ve decided:

I’m going with ……drumroll please…...Franklin Covey Classic. 

I love the portability of a Filofax Personal, or a Franklin Covey Compact but I feel like the older I get the more writing room I need, not to mention that my eyes aren’t what they used to be, so the larger font size is much easier for me to see. I’ve never been much of an A5 girl for some reason, as it does not feel as natural to me as half letter does.

With FC Classic I have decent page size and also the ability to fit it all my handbags except for the smallest ones (which I wouldn’t carry if I needed a planner with me anyway). Classic is also going to be the size with the most FC insert and form options available to purchase (since I am totally incapable of anything DIY when it comes to planners).

I've purchased the 2026 Carrera inserts from the Franklin Covey website because they are simple, clean and have minimum design, and I am committing to them for next year.

Between my reduced work hours, inflation, the end of de minimus exemptions and the tariffs, my goal for 2026 is to spend less, save money and use what I have. My hope is to get back to simpler times when I was content with one size planner and one set of inserts for an entire year. I planned this way for decades in the past; I’m confident I can do it again.

What about you? Are you a “planner switcher” or you are a steadfast user of the same planner for the long haul? As always on Fridays, feel free to discuss anything ring planner related and have a great weekend!

Planning the Franklin Planner way....

Easter 2021 was the first weekend of April 2021 and if you are reading this many years later you might know that we were still in the world of a global pandemic of a scale unseen in modern history. No travelling between countries and in my case I'm limited to staying within 10 km without a note from up on high!

Staying at home continued to be the order of the day. However, instead of binge watching things on Netflix/Amazon Prime/YouTube (delete as applicable) I decided to spend a bit of time doing some self-training. 

I came across a three part series from Franklin Planner (Franklin Covey?). At first I thought it was going to be hard going, but I stuck with it. 

The three videos were 50 minutes, 51 minutes and 35 minutes long. I cheated after the first one and opted for changing the playback speed to 1.25 to speed things up a little. I watched them one after another with a gap between parts one and two for lunch. You can split them between different days if don't have over 2 hours to spare. The splits between parts is at good dividing points. 

The videos go in to a lot of detail and the last part about how the different sections of a Franklin planner are supposed to be used was very interesting in terms of how all of the different pages are used without duplication (daily, weekly, monthly pages etc) 

Will I change my planning method and approach to how I use my own planner, at the time of writing I don't think so, but I am sure I learnt a few things along the way. 

It proved my thoughts that just seeing blank inserts tells you nothing about how they were intended to be used. 

Part one focuses on the value and importance of time management.

Part two moves on to building The Productivity Pyramid.

Finally part 3 focuses on the power of the paper tool: your Franklin Planner (or any other similar planner!).

Of course, if you are familiar with the topics covered in the first or second videos dive in to part 3.

I found that the videos are very well presented and there are examples used at each stage of the presentations. 

Further Information. 

Website: Franklin Planner

Facebook Page: Franklin Planner USA

Facebook Groups: Franklin Covey Addicts  Franklin Covey Planners Rock plus others, just search.

Width Guide

Whilst doing research in to B6 organisers, I was looking through past postings on the Van der Spek Facebook group and came across a variety of posts about Van der Spek Custom organisers that had been widened to take different width pages.

There seemed to be some confusion about the additional width required for different brands/designs of planner pages.

Here is my take on this problem.

Page Size	Actual size	Additional Width(mm)
Personal/Standard	171 x 95 mm	0 mm
Franklin Covey	172 x 108 mm	13 mm
Personal 'Wide'	172 x 121 mm	26 mm
B6	176 x 125 mm	30 mm

Remember Personal size is the same as Standard in Van der Spek language. Same page size, same ring spacing etc.

Van der Spek also offer the option to increase the length of the clasp, but please note that the clasp length is independent of the organiser width.

Therefore just because you have increased the width it does not mean you have to also increase the length of the clasp as well.

Increasing the length of the clasp just means you can stuff more paper in to the pockets!

If in doubt ask Petra for advice on the options.
Further Information.

Web Site: http://www.vdsshop.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/VDSleathergoods
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vanderspekorganiserfans/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vdsshop/

Six ways Filofax and Franklin Covey are different - Guest Post - Patty

A big thank you to Patty from 'Homemakers Daily' for this guest post about the differences between Filofax and Franklin Covey.

Earlier this year I stumbled across the Philofaxy website and it changed my life!  I’ve always loved paper planners but most of the people in my life don’t share my passion.  They know I need a paper planner but they aren’t interested.

When I discovered Philofaxy, I found a community of people who LOVED paper planners the way I did.  And as I read through the articles and comments, I realized that I wasn’t alone!
I’ve been a long-time Franklin Covey user (compact, 2ppd) but have been experimenting with Filofax for several months.  As I’ve learned more about Filofax products, I’ve discovered six big differences between how Franklin Covey (FC) planners are used and how Filofax (FF) planners are used.

1.         The most popular format for FF planners seems to be some form of the week on two pages.  For FC planners, the most popular is two pages per day.  Franklin Covey does sell a lot of weekly pages these days but the day on two pages is by far the most popular.

2.       Filofax planners don’t come with monthly pages.  If you purchase the pages, they’re not tabbed and are printed back-to-back.  This makes sense when you consider that Filofax users usually have a week on two pages in their binder.  In that case, monthly pages aren’t as important.  But in a Franklin Covey planner, the monthly pages are extremely important and come with every set of pages whether the pages are weekly or daily.  The calendars are tabbed and have a blank section on the front of each month for a Monthly Index and a blank section on the back for monthly tasks.

3.       That brings me to the next point which is that Filofax users usually have an entire year of weekly pages in their binder (hence the reason the monthly page isn’t as important).  Franklin Covey users usually only have two or three months of pages at a time.  When a month is complete, that month’s pages are moved to a storage binder.

4.       Filofax users tend to store their used pages in boxes or throw them away.  Franklin Covey users store their used pages (and unused pages) in a storage binder.  When the year is complete, the storage binder contains a permanent record.

5.       Filofax pages are pretty plain so it gives Filofax users the freedom to personalize with color and design (which they love doing!).  Franklin Covey pages are already colorful so there’s no room for creativity.

6.       And this is the biggest difference, I think.  Since most Filofax users use weekly pages, there’s not a lot of room to write anything but appointments (although I’ve seen pages that held a LOT of info!).  So Filofax users rely heavily on the tabbed sections at the back.  That’s where all the good stuff is.

Franklin Covey users write nearly everything on the daily pages and use the tabbed section at the back for short-term projects or certain types of information.  For example, I have my financial information in the tabbed sections.  It wouldn’t make sense to keep that on my daily pages.  If I’m working on a project, I would put it in one of the sections.  And I have reference information in one of the sections.  But everything else goes on the daily page and then the important information is recorded on the Monthly Index sheet for easy future reference.

I found it interesting to see the differences between the two systems.  It also helped me figure out why I was struggling to switch from Franklin Covey to Filofax.  Even though the two systems look very similar, these are pretty major differences.

And thank goodness.  None of us are alike and nor do we do things the same way.  I love the fact that there are so many choices.  We get to pick the system that works best for us.

Now . . . if I could only decide.

Guest Post - Deborah - Franklin Covey “Simplicity” Planner Pages

I’m very excited to have another guest post on Philofaxy.  My first was a review of my binder, an Ostrich Filofax.  You can see that review here. Thanks a bunch, Steve!  I feel like I’m in the “Big Leagues” now! 

I thought I would do a quick review of the new planner pages that I’m using in my Filofax. 

Franklin Covey “Simplicity” Planner Pages

About a week ago I began searching for 2013 planner pages.  I wrote a little bit about it here [hyperlink to: http://www.thoughtsandexploration.com/2012/09/new-planner-pages-for-my-filofax.html].  I’ve decided to move away from my Filofax week-on-two-pages format in cotton cream to Franklin Covey (FC) week-on-two pages.  I use a personal size Ostrich Filofax binder so I chose the Compact size refills from FC.  Here are the Simplicity Series planner pages that I chose:

I read about using FC refills in a Filofax on J’s blog – The Crazy Life of J
I moved into the new pages as soon as I got them in the mail.  Here is what I found.

As many have said, the FC pages are a bit wider than the Filofax pages.  The ring hole spacing is exactly the same between FF Personal and FC Compact.  Knowing that the pages were going to be wider, I immediately moved my Diary section to the back.  I also moved my pen from the pen loop (on the right) and put it into a Flex pen loop on the left side of my binder.  I have a second smaller pen clipped to the credit card slots.  I crossed my fingers hoping that the page overhang was going to be minimal, took a deep breath and closed my binder…no such luck. 

Yup…not going to work!  Hmmmm, what to do now?  

Okay, these pages aren’t going to defeat me!  I was determined to make them work so out came my scissors and snip, snip – off went the right-most margin (only the colorful piece).  This worked wonderfully and didn’t take away any precious writing real estate!

Now the pages fit just fine.  They do go right up to the edge of the FF when closed but I feel like they are still protected.  Very happy!

So now that they fit, lets compare the actual pages: FF vs FC.

The most obvious differences, FC has:

• A larger top margin with larger (and prettier) font showing the date
• A Monday start instead of FF’s Sunday start
• The “Notes” box is at the end of the week instead of at the beginning
• The day and date on the right page is printed on the left of the page and not the right like FF’s pages
• Color, color, color!

Two other major format differences:

The months in the FC refill are separated by a lined page on each side.  So, for example at the end of September you’ll find a lined page (on the backside) and another lined page at the beginning of the following month.  Picture each month “sandwiched” between lined pages.  Nice!

The “day boxes”, for lack of a better term, are taller on the Filofax pages than on the Franklin Covey ones.  So, yes, those with need for the FF sized day boxes may feel the FC ones to be a little tight.  Width-wise, though, they are both about the same in this format.

I bet you’re wondering about the paper quality.  Both seem to be comparable, well…kind of.  I use ballpoint, rollerball, pencil and fountain on my diary pages.  I did a test page of both.  The left shows the Filofax paper and the right shows the Franklin Covey paper.

The one huge difference on the front is the increased feathering of the fountain pen ink on the Filofax paper.  Actually, all the lines of the different pens/inks on the Franklin Covey paper are sharper than on the FF paper.  The feathering of the fountain pen looks really bad on the FF paper!  My camera is failing to clearly show this but trust me the writing looks better on the FC page.

And now the back. 

There is minimal ghosting on the FC paper as well as the FF paper EXCEPT for the fountain pen on the FF paper.  There is horrible bleed-through there.  The Filofax paper falls short with fountain pens.  Franklin Covey wins on that point with a sharper line and minimal ghosting.  I have no reservations with using my fountain pens on the FC paper.

I think I’m a convert.  I’m really going to like using these Franklin Covey pages in my Filofax.  After cutting them down a teeny bit they’re perfect.  Now I get my daily fill of color and design in my diary pages.  And here’s a surprise, I’m discovering that I like having the diary pages at the back of my planner.  I think it’s just because it’s a change.  It’s nice to change every once in a while, isn’t it?? 

Thanks again, Steve, for letting me review my new planner pages for this site!

Thank you Deborah for a great review, it is always interesting to see alternative diary formats in a Filofax

Sliding Tabs

This idea came to me in one of those flashes of inspiration, a sort of why didn't I think of that before...

So the problem... Franklin Covey tabbed pages are much wider than Filofax ones... so much wider that they stick out of the side of a Filofax organiser.. See Zoe's blog post that shows this problem better than I can describe it....

So the FC Tab picture is just that a standard dimension FC tab with the holes where they are when you buy them.... and yes they stick out.

I then put a Filofax Tab on top of it and located the holes where they would be on the page. Used a single hole punch on the FF holes and then with a craft knife cut out the card between each hole to form the slots. 

 

In the binder pulled out you can see the tab.... pushed in it disappears flush with the excess in the space inside the rings. I've tried it on my Malden and it seems to work....


Just a slight variation with the mark 2 version. Just a simply single cut between the two rows of holes. You can still move them in or out with a little effort. But these might be easier to make and you don't lose too much of the space on the tab.

 

I will admit my mock up tabs aren't exactly beautifully made, but I just wanted to show you the idea...

Now the only problem I can see is if there is anything printed on the tab divider? It might look a bit messy/odd with the oval slots in?

Franklin Covey planner inserts in Personal Filofax

My much-anticipated Franklin Covey planner inserts arrived a couple of days ago! I got the Compact size pages to fit into my Personal size Deco Filofax.

I bought the Cornerstone weekly layout, with the days as columns. I can't seem to function without days as columns, and on the Filofax US and UK websites this format is not available in the Personal size. This weekly format includes monthly tabs with the month calendar's days as blocks to write in.

Another reason I bought the FC pages in particular is that the back sides of the weekly pages are lined for notes, unlike the Filofax pages on which the diary is printed back to back. Having the lined space on the backsides of the weekly pages allows me to keep my weekly to-do lists with the corresponding week, instead of separately elsewhere in my diary (or in the middle of the week obstructing my view). Another advantage is that monthly tabs can go between the weeks.

As has been detailed on Philofaxy, the FC Compact size pages are wider than the Filofax Personal size pages, but still fit in the Personal size Filofax binders. Because the diary is not printed back to back, an entire year of the FC diary insert is about twice as thick as the Filofax diary year.

The Franklin Covey system is very structured, and the weekly task lists have columns to designate Priority (ABC) and Action (with symbols given to indicate Completed, Delegated, In Process etc.). There is also a page of Planner Hints and Helps with ideas to help you use your planner more effectively. Another page that I really like is a list of holidays and significant dates for the next 6 years! Very useful.

So for those of us who love the portability of the Personal size binder, but want the days-as-columns format with space for notes on the backs of the pages, this is an excellent option.

My Former Franklin Covey Life

We've been talking about our Franklin Covey experiences lately, so I decided to dig up my old FC planners. I have three: two Classic (7-ring, half-letter size; similar in size to A5) and one Compact (same ring configuration as Filofax Personal, but with wider pages).

My first Classic Franklin Covey planner is still my favorite, and the only one of the three I'm going to save in the long run. It's all leather, and I bought it because of its small "footprint." Instead of being larger than the pages, the planner's zipper hugs them. It's barely bigger than the pages themselves, and also has a slim ring size. It's more suited to a weekly than a daily page format.

I'll take pictures of it soon, but today I'm starting with the last planner I was using before, in 2000, I switched full-time to a Palm Pilot. Actually, the full transition took about a year. When I finally abandoned this beautiful fabric and leather planner with its one-and-a-half-inch rings, it weighed three pounds and contained all of the notes I needed for my 4 part-time/freelance jobs and one volunteer job, as well as all my personal stuff: home repair and car records, Christmas card lists, wish lists, and so on. I even found a list of all NFL teams and their towns, and a list of poker hands in winning order. Hey, you never know when you're going to need that stuff!

Imagine going from carrying 3 pounds of leather and paper wherever I went to a Palm Pilot! But I did it.

I found this planner in the basement in virtually the same condition it was in when I stopped using it. It's like a snapshot of my life, frozen in time. I'm fascinated by the number and variety of pages FranklinCovey supplied, including about 20 pages of instructions on using the planner itself! I'll scan some of these forms one of these days, since it's hard to take clear photographs of them. There are a bunch of pictures on Flickr of some of the forms and how I used them.

FranklinCovey still makes a lot of forms, but not nearly as many as they used to. They sell software for printing out the additional forms yourself.

Faith in the System

A large subset of the planner-using world is comprised of people who subscribe to one "system" or another of keeping their affairs in order. One that gets a lot of attention is "Getting Things Done," or GTD. If you somehow found your way to this site, it's quite possible you already know all about GTD. You may even be a GTD devotee.

I first heard of GTD when I ran across 43 Folders, a site whose obsession with paper and productivity dwarfs mine. My first thought was, "Hey, 'Getting Things Done' -- that sounds great. Who doesn't want to get things done?" So I trotted off to Borders to see if I could find this book that has inspired such a fanatical following. Man, was I disappointed when I saw it. It has the most boring cover, with a totally boring looking man on it. Check for yourself. Couldn't he have worn corduroys and Pumas? Or at least a black turtleneck? How about growing a quickie goatee or something? Sheesh. He looks like the man that I am deathly afraid I may be becoming: Yes, he may Get Things Done. But does he have any fun doing it? Does he loosen his tie doing it? I'm a damn lawyer, and I don't wear a tie unless something beyond my control compels it.

Why do people think you need to wear a suit and tie in order to Get Things Done? I Get Plenty Done when I'm wearing tee-shirts and paint-spackled shorts. In fact, if I need to look like the GTD guy in order to Get Things Done, let them stay undone.

I got beyond the cover long enough to open the book and flip through it. It quickly became apparent to me that Getting Things Done the GTD way requires work. There was lots of terminology I didn't understand. There were decisions to make about tickler files and folders and crap. As it turns out, all the Things you need to Get Done do not Get Done simply by adopting Getting Things Done. That was highly disappointing to me, and I didn't buy the book.

But some people are really into it. Some people are really into Franklin Covey too. The level of devotion that these people possess is creepy to me, and it makes me wonder whether they have reached a point where devotion to Getting Things Done exceeds the Things themselves in importance.

The Things are what are important to me, and I typically Get Things Done without subscribing to a system. However, for many, the system itself takes on religious dimensions. They are rules that must be followed, or the most dire of consequences will follow: You will fail to Get Things Done. Similarly, if you fail to adhere to the Ten Commandments, another dire consequence will follow: You will Go To Hell. All systems, be they organizational or religious, rest on the faith of the adherent. The adherent must say, "I trust in this set of rules. I trust that it will lead me to the promised land. As a result of that trust, I will follow the rules unerringly."

GTD is one thing; Franklin Covey is another thing entirely. I would not be surprised if that company actually seeks tax-exempt status as a religious group. I tried to go to a Franklin Covey store in a local mall a few weeks ago. I was greeted with a sign that said (paraphrasing), "Sorry, it's Sunday, and our organization believes Sunday should be the day for our employees to take stock and recharge and otherwise improve themselves." Hmm. Closed on Sunday, huh? Sort of like ... THE SABBATH. It made me afraid to get into Franklin Covey. Would I be allowed to watch football on Sunday? Or would I have to lie still all day, meditating on my core values?

Franklin Covey also evangelizes. Our local Target sells a low-cost version of the Franklin Covey system called "365." You can buy a binder with inserts for something like $10. Those cheap binders are missionaries that Franklin Covey has sent into the riff-raffy world, like free literature from Jehovah's Witnesses. Pretty soon, though, you're writing the big checks at the real Franklin Covey store. (But not on Sunday.) The Target models are gateway drugs; real euphoria must be purchased at the mall.

That's what I like about the Filofax: It's not religious, it's not dogmatic. It's spirituality divorced from ritual. Filofax doesn't tell you how to chant your mantras or perform self-acupuncture. It is just pieces of paper in a nice binder, configurable in whatever crazy-ass way you want. My Filofax didn't even come with suggestions on how to put it together. It had a set of cryptically named tags, various kinds of forms and paper, and a binder. And the package said to me: "Take me, pillage me, do with me what you will." Filofax is spiritual, not religious. Filofax, for all its Euro-coolness, is hippie at heart. "Hey man, I'm here for you. Rearrange me. Fold me. Cut me into useful pieces. Put crap into my slots. It's all copacetic, man."

I hope I'm not alienating my fledgling readership, since I believe that some of the Googlers who find themselves here may be seeking just what GTD and Franklin Covey are selling. To be fair, I haven't given GTD or Franklin Covey a fair shake. But I also haven't given evangelical Pentecostalism a fair shake. In both cases, I don't feel like I'm missing much.