There is an age-old debate about the perfect sized Filofax. To an outsider, the answer would be as simple as “whatever works for you!”. For me, it’s never been that simple. From various blogs, I gather many are in the same boat as me.

I started to diligently use an organizer again mid-2012. I was in a personal size and it worked really well for a while. I was tempted to tinker but instead I stuck to the format and personalized it a bit. Then, I fell in love with Baroque and by that time there were none available, only one in a mini size. So I decided to get it and carried around two planners. But then I realized that the mini just didn’t work.

I got a pocket Chameleon in black and thought of downsizing for a while since my bag was getting too heavy. That didn’t work either. But let me tell you what the pocket is great for:

  • Great for a light schedule
  • Great to make grocery lists
  • Doubles as a wallet
  • Great for blog ideas

What the pocket is not great for:

  • A busy work schedule
  • Extensive note taking (difficult to write in a such a size and rings get in the way)
  • Meetings

So I stuck it out with my personal. It still works for me. Here is why:

  • Convenient to carry either in your bag or just in your hand
  • Just enough space for a relatively busy schedule (I have to have a weekly diary)
  • Can take notes during meetings or client visits
  • Doesn’t take too much space on the table in client meetings
  • Easier to refer to as there are fewer things written per page, as opposed to the A5 (somehow this makes sense to me. It’s like looking for something in a novel sized book rather than a text book)

I have a plum Osterly right now that I love and am happy with the set up (more on that in a separate post).

I have also tried a compact Chamelon in raspberry. Love the feel and the colour. Also loved the size, but the pages started to scuff up with the smaller rings and I couldn’t turn pages all that well. It was also a tad to bright for my job. So even though I loved it, it didn’t quite work.

I haven’t tried an A5 in a while. But I remember lugging it around was difficult and it did take up a lot of space everywhere. I recently bought an A5 but the verdict is still out on whether I will use it everyday or just use it as a journal.

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