How to print Filofax Personal pages on A4 paper

I've made a number of Personal page templates for the Filofax on A4 paper. The idea is that these should be printed and then the Personal pages cut out. But I've never given detailed instructions for how to do this, so if you were wondering, you need wonder no more.

You need to start with one of my templates. I'll be using the Sudoku page as an example.

The template is double-sided and you need to print on both sides of the paper. With a duplex printer, set it to flip on the short edge. Here's how this looks in my printer's dialog; yours may vary somewhat:

Once your page has printed, place it on a cutting mat to protect your desk. Turn it the right way up so you can see the crop marks, indicated in this picture:

Those crop marks indicate where you need to cut. You need to cut with a sharp craft knife and you need to use a steel ruler to guide your cuts.

I normally start with the rightmost cut. Here's the ruler in position:

Zooming in, you can see how the ruler in placed right at the crop line:

You need to use the knife now and cut from one crop mark to the next. Don't cut right to the edges of the paper, though, just to the crop mark, or a little beyond it:

If you cut right to the edge you will lose the remaining marks that you need to position the ruler for other cuts.

When you've made all three vertical cuts, the sheet will look like this:

You now need to turn the piece around and position the ruler for the horizontal cuts:

When you're all done, you'll have liberated two pages and have the A4 frame left, all in one piece:

You can now punch and file these pages.

Turbo tasks for your A5 Filofax

Despite having all that extra space, the ‘to do’ sheets in your A5 Filofax are no more sophisticated than the ones in the Personal (and indeed Pocket) binders. That’s not good enough. So today I’m offering the ‘Turbo tasks’ page. Just calling your tasks ‘Turbo tasks’ makes you feel powerful – admit it.

Click to enlarge

The features of this form are:

• A priority column on the left. Assign 1s, 2s, 3s or As, Bs, Cs or your own system
• Start and finish date columns to the right. Having a start date allows you to log tasks you can’t yet tackle; the finish date lets you show hard deadlines.
• A check box. You know what to do with this.

The other feature I’ve added is a faint line inset from the left of the task field. You can use this if you want to introduce a sort of hierarchy into your task list. You can see in the picture below how I've used this in breaking down the party task:

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If your task is standalone or top-level just write over the faint line. If you are entering a subsidiary task, use it as your left-edge.

The sheet is available as an editable Word file and as a PDFfile. Either way, it is set up as an A4 document for you to print in booklet mode and then cut in half. Mirrored gutters allow space for the holes to be punched.

Free Sudoku pages for your Filofax

Here's a way for you to carry Sudoku puzzles around with you in your Filofax.

If you enjoy solving Sudoku puzzles, you probably have a system of highlighting or crossing out candidate numbers for each square. Since this can become very messy very quickly, I have built a standards solver's tool you can use in your Filofax. Each of the 81 boxes on the grid includes candidate numbers, thus:

These are the little numbers you can cross out or circle as you're solving the puzzle, allowing you to gradually narrow down the number that belongs in that box on the grid.

Here is the file:

Click to enlarge

It is a double-sided Personal page. As usual, you can download an editable Word file or a PDF version. Print onto A4, double-sided along the short edge. Use a craft knife to cut the sheets out using a steel ruler, using the crop marks to guide you. Then punch holes and file in your Personal-size Filofax. 

Why not print a few and fill in the strarter squares from some newspaper puzzles? Then you'll always be equipped for those idle moments with your Filofax.

A day of firsts

I thought it was worth recording that today this blog reached three landmarks:

1. Pageviews crossed the 25,000 mark
2. The 50th follower signed up
3. The most popular post clocked up 1,000 hits

When I started the blog in November I couldn't have imagined it achieving such an audience. A massive thank you to everyone for reading.

Finally! Free Pocket Filofax diary layouts to download

People have been very patient. Steve and I are now ready to release Pocket-sized versions of some of our diary layouts.

1. Enhanced TM Week on Two Pages

First, we have the very popular Enhanced TM Week on Two Pages layout:

Click to enlarge

Is the Pocket page big enough for this layout to be usable? You'll have to decide. But with this layout, you can view the whole week's schedule alongside daily tasks. And, weekend days get as much space as weekdays, which I know lots of people are clamouring for.

You can download a prepared 2012 set in this layout as either a Word file or a PDF file.


Print this double-sided. If you have a duplex printer, set it to flip on the short edge. If you don't then you'll have to print odd-numbered pages and then refeed to print the even-numbered pages on the reverse. You might have to experiment to find out how to refeed the paper.

On one side of each sheet you'll find crop marks. Use a craft knife and a steel ruler to release the Pocket pages and punch them. The templates are set up with mirrored gutters to accommodate the holes.

As usual, we're also giving you the facility to lift the bonnet and play with the innards. You'll have full freedom to edit and create your own adapted version by downloading this Word file and this Excel file.


If you want to know how to go about using the source files, this post will help you.


2. Two Days Per Page


Next we have the Two Days Per Page layout, in two flavours: unlined and lined:

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge - and to see the lines!

You can download a prepared 2012 set in the unlined layout as either a Word file or a PDF file.  If you want lines, then use this Word file or this PDF file. Use the instructions above to print and finish your pages.

All you tinkerers need to download this Word file for the unlined version or this Word file for the lined version. In either case, you'll also need this Excel file.

Help! PDF files print slightly smaller than they should

When you print your PDF file, it prints out smaller on paper than the Word or other file it was created from. I know, it's a real pain. But you can fix it easily.

When you print from Adobe Acrobat Reader, you will see this dialog:

Click to enlarge

See that 'Print Scaling' setting? That's the one that's shrinking your PDF when you print it.

Change the setting to 'None':

Click to enlarge

Now, when you print the PDF it will print at the right size. Hurrah!

Free Day-Per-Page and Day-On-Two-Pages diary pages for the Filofax Personal

Before Steve and I began our project to design a full range of diary pages, I created a couple of A5 layouts for Day-On-Two-Pages and Day-Per-Page diaries and it's these - adapted for the Filofax Personal - that we are releasing today.

First up is the Day-On-Two-Pages:

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Then we also have Day-Per-Page:

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1. Pre-prepared 2012 sets

Choose between the Day-On-Two-Pages Word file, the Day-On-Two-Pages PDF file, the Day-Per-Page Word file and the Day-Per-Page PDF file.

Print this double-sided. If you have a duplex printer, set it to flip on the short edge. If you don't then you'll have to print odd-numbered pages and then refeed to print the even-numbered pages on the reverse. You might have to experiment to find out how to refeed the paper.

On one side of each sheet you'll find crop marks. Use a craft knife and a steel ruler to release the Personal pages and punch them. The templates are set up with mirrored gutters to accommodate the holes.


Source files

You can also roll your own using our source files. The Day-On-Two-Pages version uses this Word file as the base document and this Excel file as the data source. The Day-Per-page version uses this Word file as the base document and this Excel file as the data source.

If you want to know how to go about using the source files, this post will help you.

A free time and activity tracker for your Filofax

This one is in response to a request from Alison Reeves, who sent me a design she had drafted in Excel. It was for a page that would allow her to track the time she spent each day between different activities or clients. I've done very little with that design other than to add a few graphical elements and render it in Word for you to print at home. Here it is:

Each hour of the day has four little ovals you can shade in. Each represents a quarter of an hour. There is space for eight different activities/clients on a page, but the template is set up for double-sided printing, so one sheet can accommodate sixteen in all.

It is a double-sided Personal page. As usual, you can download an editable Word file or a PDF version. Print onto A4, double-sided along the short edge. Use a craft knife to cut the sheets out using a steel ruler, using the crop marks to guide you. Then punch holes and file in your Personal-size Filofax.

Using this sheet will help when billing clients. You could also use it to track just how you spend your day. If you have coloured pencils or pens, this may be an opportunity to use them.

Free yearly planner for your Filofax

So far, we've produced a whole variety of diary layouts, but what's been missing until now is the big picture of the year on a page. Steve and I just had to tick that one off, so today we're sharing yealy planner pages for the A4 or A5 Filofax, and a fold out version for the Personal Filofax.
 
First of all, we're offering the pre-built, 2012 versions. Here is the A4 and A5 version:

Click to enlarge

You can download this as a Word file or as a PDF file. Either way, simply print for an A4 version or print on A4 using booklet mode for an A5 page.


Alternatively you can print this A4 Word file or this PDF file and Z fold it to fit A5.


Here's the version for the Personal Filofax:

Click to enlarge

Download either the Word file or the PDF file. You can find cutting and folding tips for this one in this post.


Source files

If you want to tinker, you can download the source files. For the A4/A5 version you'll need this Word file and this Excel file. For the Z fold version you will need this Word file and the same Excel file. For the Personal version you'll need this Word file and the same Excel file.

If you're into the whole mail merge thing and want to poke around under the bonnet, you'll find we've done this layout a little differently. Each record is just a month and we've used a special type of mail merge called a catalogue or directory merge to put twelve separate records on one page. To ensure you only get one header row on the table, we placed that in the document's header.

Weekly time sheet to print for your Filofax

I saw in Nancy's Sense of Gravity blog this form that Nancy was using to track her working hours:

Lime Tree wondered if I might put together a Filofax version. Well, why not?

 

Here is the file:

Click to enlarge

It is a double-sided Personal page. As usual, you can download an editable Word file or a PDF version. Print onto A4, double-sided along the short edge. Use a craft knife to cut the sheets out using a steel ruler, using the crop marks to guide you. Then punch holes and file in your Personal-size Filofax.

Free Filofax diary pages - all in one place

Over the past few weeks, numerous posts have contained lots of different diary layouts for the Filofax for you to download, print and try for free. The result is that you may struggle to find exactly what you want quickly.

I've posted a page that has an organised list of links to all the various layouts (and hints at what might still be on the way). You'll find a link to it on the navigation bar at the top of this page, just next to 'About Me'.

Free Vertical Weekly Diary pages for the Filofax Personal

When Steve and I set about adapting our A5 diary layouts to Personal size, the one layout we missed out was the Vertical Week to View. We didn't think this would be a particularly usable layout in Personal size. However, that's just our view, so why not give it a try?

Click to enlarge

We've done this a few ways for you.


Pre-prepared 2012 diary sets

First, we have the usual A4-based set. Choose between the Word file and the PDF file. Print this double-sided. If you have a duplex printer, set it to flip on the short edge. If you don't then you'll have to print odd-numbered pages and then refeed to print the even-numbered pages on the reverse. You might have to experiment to find out how to refeed the paper.

On one side of each sheet you'll find crop marks. Use a craft knife and a steel ruler to release the Personal pages and punch them. The templates are set up with mirrored gutters to accommodate the holes.

And for those of you who want to print directly onto Filofax Personal size plain paper, we have versions for you, too. Choose either the Word file or the PDF file.


Source files

You can also roll your own using our source files. The A4-based version uses this Word file as the base document and this Excel file as the data source.

The version that prints on Personal size paper uses this Word file and this Excel file.

If you want to know how to go about using the source files, this post will help you.

My new custom rubber stamp

I have to go to a lot of meetings. I take a lot of notes in meetings. Some notes relate to new information that emerges, some to actions that other people will be taking and some to actions I agree to take. I just write things down as they get covered. A typical page of notes looks like this:

These notes are a couple of years old and pretty innocuous,
or I'd have smudged out some detail. 

In a typical day I'l write perhaps five pages like that, often many more. In amongst it all are my personal actions, things I've committed to doing. You can see a couple of my actions on the page above. I've drawn little boxes to the left of them and then later ticked them when complete. Sometimes I can draw those as I go along, but other times things are going too quickly, and I have to scan the notes later and draw them in.

I have drawn those little boxes many thousands of times. A smaller number of times, I have drawn them, only later to realise they weren't prominent enough so I missed them when I reviewed the notes and failed to take the action.

You're probably thinking big red stars or lots of highlighter might be the way to go, but these are work notes and I don't want them to end up looking all strumpeted up and undignified.

I while ago, I came up with the idea of getting a rubber stamp to use. I could stamp prominent action boxes next to my actions. They'd look neat and tidy (neater and quicker than drawing my own each time), but would be impossible to miss. The trouble was, I couldn't find anyone who made such a stamp.

I put a shout out on Twitter for help to find someone who could make me a custom stamp. Steve Morton responded and this led me on a trail that ended at Speedy Stamps. Speedy Stamps offer a service where you can design your own stamp which they'll make and send you the next day. I cooked up a simple graphic and uploaded it to their web interface, scaling the picture to make just the right size stamp. It came the next day. It's pocket-sized, self-inking and looks like this:

That's what it looks like, but what does it do?

It does this:

Oh, I love that. I'm going to do it again.

Perfect every time. Also, neat and tidy, while being prominent enough to be unmissable. £15.84 well spent. Is it just me, or is this really, really cool?

Download source files for the new Monthly diary layouts

It's time to get geeky again. As we did with the new A5 layouts and the new Personal layouts, Steve and I are making available source files for our new monthly layouts, too.

We're releasing them so that those of you who want to can tinker and tweak to get the unique layout that is perfect for you. These are the source files Steve and I built to produce the 2012 sets. The same ones will also produce sets for any year you care to choose. In each of the data source files, you just need to change one date - the starting date - and the file will calculate all the other dates for you. I've highlighted the cell with the date you need to look for and change in each of the files like this:

Look for the red-outlined cell - that's the only date you should change

These monthly layouts are set up to give you a whole year so probably don't need much tinkering with at the Excel end, although you might want to jazz up or adapt the Word base files. If you mess up, you can always download the file again and start over.

As long as you have some basic Word and Excel skills, you should be able to give this a go. You'll need to be able to set up a basic mail merge file link, and there are plenty of web tutorials that show you the way - Google using the search terms: Word Excel Mail Merge 20xx (where 'xx' is 02, 03, 07 or 10, depending on your version.)

If that all seems like a lot of work, you can still just download the pre-prepared 2012 sets.

Here are the source files.

1. A5 Month on One Page

Click to enlarge

Download Word File and Excel File


2. A5 Month View

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Download Word File (use same Excel file as for A5 Month on One Page above)


3. Personal Month on One Page

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Download Word file (print on A4), Word file (print on Personal) and Excel file


4. Personal Month per View

Click to enlarge

Download Word file (print on A4), Word file (print on Personal) and Excel file
The diary layout range is still growing. Next up, Pocket-size versions of at least some of our layouts and a yearly planner layout for A4 and A5.

Ten uses for the Filofax Malden zip pocket

At first glance, that little inner zipped pocket in every Malden binder doesn't seem all that useful. Since there is one there, though, I put my mind to some uses you could put it to beyond just storing loose change. Here are the ideas I came up with.

1. A highlighter pen or pencil
2. Postage stamps
3. A mini first aid kit (band aids, antiseptic wipes, cotton buds)
4. Emergency cufflinks and brass collar stiffeners
5. A spare house or car key
6. Earbud phones
7. Fountain pen ink cartridges
8. Spare pencil leads and erasers
9. A nail file
10. A USB stick or SD/Flash card

What do you keep in your zip pocket?