Fi-loh-no!
My Day Runner inserts have arrived! Before I write about how I’m using them and post pictures of them in use, I’m going to write about whether or not I will use them. Here’s the problem:
I love the layout of these inserts. There’s plenty of room for everything I want to record in a day—appointments, to-dos, notes, exercise, food and water intake, plus anything else that I want to remember. The flowers are a bit girly for me, but they’ll do (at least for now) – the colors and prints are light enough that the pages don’t scream pink-powder-puff-girl-power.
However, in doing a test-run, you can see that the lines on the inserts are very close together and that my writing overlaps from one line to the next. This is a problem for me. I like to have ample space for my writing, especially considering that I don’t write all that big (though not tiny, either). Compare that with how my writing sits very nicely on the Filofax lines.
So, readers, I need your help. Do I adjust my writing to fit the DayRunner pages, or do I stick with the Filofax pages? As I’ve said, there’s nothing wrong with the Filofax pages, but the layout of the DayRunner pages is better for the items I tend to keep track of in terms of which section I write in most often during the day in relation to the rings of the binder (such problems, I know). Do I choose writing ease over layout? Or layout over nice writing? Layout is a wonderful thing but being happy with the over look is just as important.
Maybe I should give up altogether, start from scratch…
Is it just me, or am I losing my mind a little?
I love the layout of these inserts. There’s plenty of room for everything I want to record in a day—appointments, to-dos, notes, exercise, food and water intake, plus anything else that I want to remember. The flowers are a bit girly for me, but they’ll do (at least for now) – the colors and prints are light enough that the pages don’t scream pink-powder-puff-girl-power.
However, in doing a test-run, you can see that the lines on the inserts are very close together and that my writing overlaps from one line to the next. This is a problem for me. I like to have ample space for my writing, especially considering that I don’t write all that big (though not tiny, either). Compare that with how my writing sits very nicely on the Filofax lines.
So, readers, I need your help. Do I adjust my writing to fit the DayRunner pages, or do I stick with the Filofax pages? As I’ve said, there’s nothing wrong with the Filofax pages, but the layout of the DayRunner pages is better for the items I tend to keep track of in terms of which section I write in most often during the day in relation to the rings of the binder (such problems, I know). Do I choose writing ease over layout? Or layout over nice writing? Layout is a wonderful thing but being happy with the over look is just as important.
Maybe I should give up altogether, start from scratch…
Is it just me, or am I losing my mind a little?
Two suggestions:
ReplyDelete1. Switch to a smaller point pen. I have a .3 I don't use that I can give you at the meetup. I prefer .4 myself. For reference, pens sold at staples as "extra fine" are usually .5 and fine are .7, which seems huge to me, lol.
2. write every other line.
3. there's someone on etsy who custom prints professional looking filofax diary inserts, but he/she has only one layout. if you contact him/her, he/she might be willing to to custom design and/or print it for you. this might be pretty pricey though.
-Dasha
I do love the pen I'm using now, though I'm not sure what size it is. I'll have to check. Plus, since I use different colors, that would mean that I'd have to change them all. More work.
ReplyDeleteI could write every other line. I'll have to do a test run on that and see how it goes.
I'll look into the etsy pages, though I'd rather not spend any more money on inserts if there's a chance I won't use them (lesson learned).
Question - I seem to recall reading that the dayrunner pages were thicker? I KNOW that there is a lot of pen/ink bleedthru on filofax pages but I see none on the dayrunner pages (in your photos). Is that true for you?
ReplyDelete~AspireToBe
Yes, the pages are thicker and from what I can tell at this point have little to no bleed through. I'm pretty sure that Plaiditude said the same thing and I think he's been using them for a while.
ReplyDeleteYes, I pretty much get no bleed through even with a fountain pen - currently I'm using a frixion pen. I think your writing looks fine on the narrower lines. If you continued using the Dayrunner pages you're writing size would probably change naturally after a while.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I am not the only one who goes through this! I remember before I became a Filofax convert, I loved the layout of my FC daily pages. PLENTY of space and organization for appointments, to dos, etc. but the lines were itty bitty!
ReplyDeleteI love the Wo2P for Filofax, but do wish it had a bit more structure and space. I'll have to see what you end up deciding! I suppose that overall I might sacrifice writing for the ideal layout...
Plaiditude - my writing seemed to adjust a little just from using the inserts today.
ReplyDeleteJ - In this group, you are NEVER alone! ;) Originally I thought the same, that I'd sacrifice writing for the layout. We shall see...
I'll be sure to keep everyone posted.
Since there's so many lines on one page, I would imagine that writing every other line would work out fine. For the appointments section you have 4 lines available (though a bit small), so that should be sufficient.
ReplyDeleteActually, I would like to see a comparison of a FF-lined page and a DR lined page next to each other? Would you mind taking a picture?
Other than that: in my experience handwriting DOES scale down when writing on narrower lines or smaller sized pages (likewise, my writing gets huge and disoriented and messy when I write on not-lined pages! A fine pen does help. But from your pics I see that you already seem to use a very fine pen?
I'll be watching this space for updates!
Jotje - that's the one thing I didn't think to take a picture of. I will try to do that this weekend.
ReplyDeleteOh no! Finally catching up on reading your blog and so sorry to see that you are not liking your DR pages : (
ReplyDeleteI agree that, as you adjust to new pages, your handwriting does adjust. But I can see where it would bother you.
I have just changed over to FC Day on 2 Pages - same basic layout as the DR pages but wider than FF/DR/DT pages (still fits FF Personal though) and I find the line spacing quite generous. The calendar part is double spaced w/half hour ticks. If you have a retailer near you, maybe give them a try?
Just a thought...
I don't have an FC retailer near me but I'll take a look on the website. I'm still trying out the DR pages. Hopefully I can post more details this weekend.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I did not buy the DR 2PPD. I think most personal size pages are a bit too narrow. I'd probably try to work with it after investing all that money, at least for now. You may get used to the lines and end up really loving this format. In the past this was the only format I would use. If your real unhappy FC has a compact Simplicity 2PPD which I think may have wider lines than most. I wouldn't like it because the pages are wider than FF and it wouldn't match with the remainder of your system.
ReplyDeletePerhaps not perfect, but good enough!? Is there a perfect planner?
Savannah - I got the inserts on a discount, so if I end up not using them, it's not a huge loss. However, I am going to try to work with them this week. I like the FC inserts but could not deal with them sticking out beyond the rest of my inserts and buying all new pages (note pages, to-do lists, etc) is out of the question for the financial reason. There is no perfect planner, at least not that I've found yet.
ReplyDeleteIt's always something isn't it (smiles)? That old time planner frustration! I go through the same thing with journals too and quite a few have ended up in the trash bin. When your writing copiously it is much more important to have the right paper qualiy, page size, binding, and line spacing.
ReplyDeleteWow, I keep following this trying to make the same decision. The FF ppd is just NOT working for me. Some days it's plenty of space, but most it's not nearly enough space.
ReplyDeleteAnd that squishing Sat. and Sun. into one page is just ridiculous. I have a life on the weekends too! So I think I'm off to DT, DR, or FC pages next also.
Can't wait to see what you decide!
Rori - see my next post regarding more information. I'll be writing up a decision post tomorrow...
ReplyDelete