Hi everyone!
I hope you're all enjoying this amazing weather. I can't believe that just over a week ago it was snowing in Aberdeenshire and now we're basking in temperatures of 26 and 27 degrees C!
Today I want to throw this post open to all my readers who are Filofax fans.
A few days ago a reader (Jane) asked what everyone does with the A-Z index in their Filofaxes. She made a good point which was that she, like many other people, stores all her names and addresses in her Smartphone. The same goes for iPhones, iPad etc. so really, is there any need for A-Z in your Filofax and if so, how do you use it?
In my A5 Finchley, which is my work diary, I must admit I use the A-Z to store the names, addresses and telephone numbers of clients and students. I just really like having everything that I need for work in one place. However, all other names, addresses, telephone numbers, etc which are not work related are stored on my iPad which mean that there isn't really any point in having an A-Z in my personal use Filofax.
But I hate waste! I can't bear to see them not being used. I can't bring myself to throw them out and I hate the thought of them just lying around doing nothing so I decided to use them to store my shopping site passwords at the back of my personal Filofax. Over the years I have shopped on so many sites that I have lost track of the number of passwords I need and this system works well for me. I keep a piece of lined paper behind the relevant index and on it is the name of the site, a code to the email address related to it and a code for the password. Yes, they're all coded so no-one could find my FF and start logging on anywhere. I also don't store banking passwords or anything else that needs to be completely secure. It's purely for shopping sites.
So there you have it. That's what I use my A-Z Index for but I (and Jane) would love to hear what everyone else does with theirs because I'm positive that there will be some far more original ideas than mine.
I hope you're all enjoying this amazing weather. I can't believe that just over a week ago it was snowing in Aberdeenshire and now we're basking in temperatures of 26 and 27 degrees C!
Today I want to throw this post open to all my readers who are Filofax fans.
In my A5 Finchley, which is my work diary, I must admit I use the A-Z to store the names, addresses and telephone numbers of clients and students. I just really like having everything that I need for work in one place. However, all other names, addresses, telephone numbers, etc which are not work related are stored on my iPad which mean that there isn't really any point in having an A-Z in my personal use Filofax.
But I hate waste! I can't bear to see them not being used. I can't bring myself to throw them out and I hate the thought of them just lying around doing nothing so I decided to use them to store my shopping site passwords at the back of my personal Filofax. Over the years I have shopped on so many sites that I have lost track of the number of passwords I need and this system works well for me. I keep a piece of lined paper behind the relevant index and on it is the name of the site, a code to the email address related to it and a code for the password. Yes, they're all coded so no-one could find my FF and start logging on anywhere. I also don't store banking passwords or anything else that needs to be completely secure. It's purely for shopping sites.
So there you have it. That's what I use my A-Z Index for but I (and Jane) would love to hear what everyone else does with theirs because I'm positive that there will be some far more original ideas than mine.
Comments
As I'm a student in the medical industry I need to know drugs and their effects...so I keep a list of any drugs that come up in my work, and file them with brief descriptions under the A-Z tabs. Much better than always leafing through drug guides.
Another way of using them that's particularly fun for me, is just cutting off the tab and using the card as DIY-dividers for printing. I then add my own tabs. More often , however, I use them as printing practice for my final dividers with original tabs intact (e.g. blank/subject/numbered tabs) to save me cutting up and spending more money on the practice runs.
I have also heard of people using the A-Z tabs as subject indexes - depending on the type of work they do, they file any relevant information behind the corresponding letter of the index. I personally don't do this because I don't store information that way. But I know people find it very helpful.
I also like your idea of taking off the tabs and making your own. That way you could have sections for anything you like.
Kanalt - I have always worried about losing my Filofax but actually I'm much more likely to lose my phone *touches wood*. Also, I don't always have my iPad with me so I really should put all my names and addresses, etc. back in my Filofax. Thanks for that.
A/B for addresses,
C/D for car stuff,
E/F for fuel expenses,
G/H for moving house todo list
Etc
Under "C" I have C contacts plus lists of people who'll get Christmas cards from me, Christmas gift ideas, cleaning schedules, clothes I should purchase.
I use the tabs only for personal contacts/lists. My work contacts are printed on colored paper in a different section.
My A-Z tabs make up the bulk of my binder. I use an A5 Kendal and I managed to get about 6 packs of A5 A-Z for AUD$0.71 each a a few months ago. I printed lines on to the front of each tab, and that is where I write my names and numbers. This is as a back up, as I have had my iPhone crash and as a result I have lost contact details. Behind my tabs I keep -
authors, books to get, books read, i have a page with centrelink detail, a home made page caled 'co-deets' where I keep info on all the compays i deal with (name, acnt number, phone number, info), a page with info about my computers, a filofax page with product codes for reordering and whislists, an info page on my son's school behind G, ideas goes under I, and I have a section on my son here too, L covers library info, M and N have a list of names, and lists of movies I have and want to get, nothing under O, but P has products - often things cut from magazines or something I want to try. Q and R are quotes and recipes. ST, UV are empty, WX has a list of words that I want to look up and my work numbers. I plan on bulking this section up. I need to a a page for family gift ideas; a page for courses I have completed through work. The posibilities are endless. I like the idea of filing things under their 'lette'! Hope this gives you some ideas!
There are some great alternative uses for the A-Zs. You're all obviously much more imaginative than I am.
What I really liked about all your suggestions is that information on everything (and I mean everything) can be kept in the one place whereas my info is kept in various notebooks, on scraps of paper and dotted about my Filofaxes. I never really thought to put it all behind the A-Zs.
Thank you all again for you help.