Revamped my Finsbury! Less is definitely more

Now, I moan occasionally about how I don't use my filofax very much and it doesn't seem to have a purpose... but I think I might have cracked it now with a 'less is more' approach.

In my old setup I had everything - addresses, diary, important websites, notes, to do lists, to read lists, to bake lists, gym tracker, weight tracker, things to remember, things to forget, sticker sheets everywhere... It was a mess and I hardly ever used it (apart from the gym tracker). In the end it just sat in my desk looking sad and neglected but stuffed to the gills with *things* that I never used! The start of the new university year was just the oomph I needed to do some revamping.

Gone are the pointless sheets of paper that I never used - the things to remember, the to do/bake/read lists (I catalogue these now in the diary section and with my good reads profile), the addresses, important websites... the wadge of note paper! It feels a little empty but it now functions better and is on the way to lying flat. It was never going to flatten out with that much crap in it!

Here comes the picture heavy new layout...

I've kept the dash/start pretty much the same, though I may do away with the postcard and owl at some point... Remember, less is more!

The astute of you will notice that this is not a current week in my diary. This is because I am channeling my inner PaperLovestory and will be posting weekly shots of my week - I have to say, it's the first time in a long time that I've actually been organised and I'm loving it! I've started writing in it throughout the day, using colour and stickers and getting stuff done so I can have a nicely ticked page at the end of the week! Strangely this is a massive motivator for me, but odder things have happened. This is just a little sneak preview of the way I'm now putting things in my diary :) I also have a 2013 year calendar which I've marked down important dates on and a blank sheet of notepaper headed as 'Important 2014 dates' so if anything comes up that I need to remember to put in my diary for 2014 - I have it there and ready with no need to faff or take up diary space. I need that space for stickers!

Remember I said I had loads of stickers flying around? Well, no longer! This is my solution. I've stuck my stickers (that track my gym workouts) onto the front of my first monthly diary page so that they're always on hand! I'm keeping the monthly workout pages I have done from last year so that I can keep an eye on how much I'm going to the gym. So far I've been something like 12 times since I started the membership in October (not great, but I was home a lot last semester) which is about a third of the way to my goal of making my membership fee back. Again, probably strange motivation but it gets me there! Every workout I do, I stick a star on the day and write the calorie burn underneath just for the interesting aspect of it. I block out days when I'm not at uni as I can't gym when I'm 240 miles away from it!

Behind the third tab is a random space really, it's just a card holder with some sticky notes in. I may change this and put something 'useful' in but for now it's working for me. Later on this year I may use it as a CV/career section.

Behind the final tab I have three sheets of paper - one with my goals for 2013 on, one with important addresses that I don't know on and one spare. That's all I need right now! In the back zipper pocket I still have some sticker clutter but it's not adding bulk and I do use them so it's ok for now. It won't be like that for long though! I need to figure out a good way of storing and displaying my sticker sheets. Oh, and I need more sticker sheets.

So there we have it! As I have revamped my Finsbury, my next job is to smarten up this blog - It's a bit drab right now! So changes will be afoot. Don't be alarmed! I will be back on Sunday with my weekly round up. See you then!

Crafty Bits - Wreck this Journal

For those who don't know, a Wreck This Journal is a book that has instructions in for you to complete it with - but the instructions push you to use your creativity and go against the conventions of normal literature by literally wrecking the book! You can find more examples on my tumblr page. The above video is a quick flick through my book so far - I've had it since September.

New Year - New Filo?

Happy 2013! Let's hope it's a good one :)

The title is a little misleading - no, I won't be buying a new filofax as I own three already! However this year I want to use my personal Finsbury for an actual use. Currently it sits in my desk at uni and I use it to record when I go to the gym, and what I do there - and that's all.

So I need a decent useage for it. I'm going to start applying for jobs soon (as I graduate in July, eep!) and I'm hoping to move in with my OH as soon as possible after leaving uni. I've used the finance sheets that come from Filofax themselves but honestly, I found them too small to use properly and useless for budget planning. I think this year I'd like to try using my Filo as a way to keep track of my money my way, shopping lists, wants and needs, savings, meal planning, job apps, possible flats to look at as well as the gym record.

I need to figure out a good set up for the above uses then. Hmm. I have no idea where to start with budget planning or set up and it's bothering me a lot! Maybe I'll go with just blank pages and write on those, keeping it organised into sections. Hmm.

I might look at selling my A4 metropol, I rarely use it. I will almost certainly be selling it in July when I've graduated as I won't have a use for it anymore.