Someone has done a cost comparison of the cost of a FiloFax and moleskin notebooks. Bascily (and obviously) the FiloFax is gona cost a heap upfront, for the binder a hole puncher and some paper. But then its running costs is just the paper (you print it off diyplanner.com (hint (hint))). With the moleskin its "cheap" to start with as you only have to buy one at a time. It takes 2 years for them to break even. After that the FiloFax will win as its just paper you have to buy.
2 years is a long time. And know my I would most likey end up wanting to change the binder after 2 years for something else. Essentialy the cost is basicly the same. It will also depend on what you want to do. If its just jotting down notes, then the moleskin would work just fine as its simpiler. If you need a highly complex organisation tool the filofax is the way to go. Especialy if you make lists.
[ PigPog ]
A5 Moleskins at borders in Australia cost $32 and the pocket books $22. This I think is quite expensive when you can get school note books for $0.01, thats one cent. And we dont even have one cent coins anymore...
Another consideration which the article did not consider is the type of paper, wheter you would need a guilotine and ink. One ink cartidge is about one reem of paper. $20 for a cartridge per year. And if you wanted to use thicker paper, thats gona cost more too.
filofaxes are also expensive as they start at $100 for anything decent. They are also bulky and I think you really need to like it before shelling out the money. For me I like to experiment. My organisational tools change on a daily basis so I don't really want to be tied to the filofax for a long time. Also I think they are just too bulky to be carried around. Ofcourse my current setup would indicate that is not one of my concerns... Diary, Notebook, Notepad and my pseudo hipsterPDA. All of that would be about the size of a FiloFax... Maybe a little smaller. It is kinda messy... Which I hate. Which is why I'm thinking about the filofax. It would combine everything. I think I like spirals better then rings. Atleast you have the option of writting on both sides. Also I think my setup is considerably less expensive then either the filofax or the moleskin. Firstly. My note book does not cost $32. Its only $4. It has spirals, which some say is bad as they can get crushed (agreed) but the paper is *hides* better then the moleskin. The Cover is just plain cardboard/thickpaper so again not as durable as the moleskin. Also I Often find that it requires a binder clip just to stop the pages from flapping about in your bag. The moleskin comes with elastic to keep it together. Would be nice to have the lieflat binding of the moleskin, in a cheaper note book. But I think its gona take some time to find something like that. Oh and all the pages are perforated, which means you can take out pages you dont like. Or write someone a note and not have that ugly sprial rip. Looks neat.
I dont really have the option of putting plain paper or squared paper to draw on. But I that can be fixed by actually puting a few pieces in the front pocket of my notebook. My diary is probably the least used thing, but when you do use it, its very handy. Outlook is also good for this, but its just easy to have that with you to look up what day something will lie on etc... you know what I mean...
hipsterPDA isnt very hip atm as its bascily a collection (about 5 stacks) of system cards, held together with a foldback binder clip. I have a general stack, but then I have "special" stacks for other things. Like a list of items I am looking to buy, and slowly you can build up a lot of RELIABLE information on said product, then when you go to purchase the item you have everything you will ever need: prices, features, alternatives, etc... This I find is especialy good if you like to research and shop around.
Would like to get a hold of a system card folder/wallet to carry my cards around. Atleast the general stack and the empty stack. Having seprate stacks also enables you to have stacks that you can just leave at home. Most of the time you can go without the specialised stacks, unless you need it, then you have the option of chucking it in.
If you can draw you could use a visual diary instead of a notebook. I just find I like having lines to write on. Its convenient and looks neater... But if you can draw or draw atleast 50% of the time then I can see how a visual diary would work. The effect of text without the lines is quite awesome. But often (OFTEN) not practical.
The addition of a notepad is mainly becuase I have a surplus of notepads (they come free with the A4 spiral notebooks). So I have a entire draw full of them. So instead of cluttering my notebook with to-do lists I put them in the notebook. I know the whole point of carrying system cards is to use them for everything, including lists. But since I have so many, I can make new lists whenever I get bored with one.
