Convincing Myself

Recently my status has changed to ‘in between jobs’. This change was partly due to not being happy and partly due to a conscious decision by my husband and myself to change some things about our lives. That isn't, however, what this post is about. This post is about my organisational system.

When I was working full time I used two Filofax binders to organise myself and my family. The A5 one stayed at home and had the family diary and other reference documents in it. I also used a pocket sized Filofax as my wallet, diary and portable information system. This worked great for the whole time I was working. Same binders and more or less the same set ups.

When I left work I stopped using the pocket Filofax because I rarely needed to have my appointments to hand and didn't really leave the house as often or for as long. Therefore I decided to use just a wallet instead. It didn't work. Well it worked as a wallet it’s just that I often found myself without something that I needed. ‘Go back to the original system’ was the obvious response.

That’s just what I did. The only differences were that I wanted to carry on using a separate wallet for now, and I didn't need the diary. Because of this I changed from the pocket Malden to the pocket Chameleon as it has smaller rings.

I didn't like it.

I didn't like the page size of the pocket as I wanted something I could write in more rather than just use as reference and scribbled notes for reminders. We have recently got a dog and now he can go out and about after his vaccinations I find I am spending much more time outside.

A rethink was needed. After a brief attempt at making over sized pages for the pocket and using it as a notebook I decided to step into the unknown and try a compact.

I have never got on with personal size as the rings get in the way so have often wanted to try a compact. If I had ever been able to easily get my hands on a compact chameleon I may have tried that. I had already bought a compact Holborn but there were parts where the surface of the leather was missing and I wasn't happy with it so it was returned.

The thing is this time I had made up my mind that I wanted to try a compact but I hadn't seen one I really liked. This is how I ended up with an aqua Saffiano. As I wasn't feeling the love I wanted to get one from the cheaper end. Not my favourite colour for a Filofax – my others are either brown or red. Having said that it doesn't feel too bad for a non-leather organiser and I think it is doing the job. It is MUCH easier to write in than a personal and still fits everything I want in it.

The only issue I can foresee at the moment is when I want to use my small cross body bag rather than my massive ‘prepared for anything’ bag. Consequently I am not ruling out a return to the Malden pocket at some point. As I write this I realise I am trying to convince myself to settle with something I don't love. The 'well you've bought it now' side of me will make me use it for a while. Maybe I will learn to love it...

One day Filofax will make an Ochre Malden compact (no not the zipped one) and I will live happily ever after.