Spring 2016 Filofax designs that will enhance your calm

The weather is getting warmer here in New Jersey. The last of our snow has melted away and the early birds can be heard tweeting away without using 140 characters. Looking at your year so far, have you held up to your goals for 2016? Are they in progress? Most importantly, do you have a system for keeping yourself moving forward without losing sight of the big picture?

Modern life is abundant with distractions to keep us from working on our goals. Yes, most of the prime-time, network TV shows have returned from mid-season break (Walking Dead is getting really good). Scrolling around Facebook became more involving, as you have other options besides a simple "like." And, what's there to be said that hasn't been said about the Presidential primary season....

All these distractions can suck up so much time without us even knowing it. That's why it's a great idea to unplug once in a while and focus on what really matters.

Every once in a while, you read something about an uber-successful person relying on pen and paper to keep their thoughts in line and focus on the "big picture." Richard Branson comes to mind. So does acclaimed author Neil Gaiman. Handwriting also has benefits in learning, as one study points out.

Enter the organizer - a pen & paper practitioner's best friend. Filofax, our #1 brand of organizer we offer, is world renown for their durable, fashionable and practical designs. Each year, designers get together to devise new, fashionable and trendy organizers to refresh the brand and stay on the cutting edge of modern style.

These new, 2016 Filofax styles are now available to order in our shop. The pleasing colors and cover designs are perfect for Spring.

Not into social media? This is your kind of "Tweet." Writing in this organizer far exceeds the 140 character limit, and we're OK with that! Pocket or Personal sizes available.

For lovers of all things Spring, this pretty style of Filofax "Butterflies" organizer fits perfectly. Pocket or personal size.

The Filofax Geometric's mesmerizing print design and calming color palette will help you keep on-task without stressing out on the details.

Wrapped in luxurious, genuine leather, the Lockwood has a distinguished and elegant feel. Available in A5 or Personal size in Aqua or Garnet colors.

As comfortable as a pair of your favorite jeans, the Filofax Denim Dots has a button fly closure to complete the look. Available in pocket or personal sizes.

Goldspot Original Spring Essentials Organizer Set

While we introduce all new organizers to the Filofax planner lineup, we are highlighting a glowing best-seller by offering this exclusive bundle that will help you get your organizer set up in a jiffy!

We invite you to move right into a new organizer to kickstart your most important goals and get a handle on your busy schedule. Our Filofax Fluorescent Pink A5 Essentials Set includes all the standard organizer inserts that come with the purchase of a brand new A5 :

• 2016 Week on Two Pages Diary
• 6 Numbered Index Tabs
• Contact Address Sheets
• Assorted Color Ruled Notepaper
• To-Do List Paper
• Plain, Grid and Ruled White Notepaper
• Transparent Envelope
• Ruler / Pagemarker

In addition, this essentials set provides you with a few extras to help customize your organizer set up, including :

• (1) Pack of Plain White Notepaper (25 sheets)
• (1) Assorted Sticky Notes & Highlight Strips
• (1) Pack of Organizer Stickers

In case that isn't enough, we're also including a complimentary crystal gem ballpoint pen (colors vary and are chosen at random upon shipping).

Normally, the A5 organizer alone costs $111.00 retail price.

We're offering the entire set at the outstanding price of $99.00, including FREE US priority shipping to any domestic US shipping addresses.

This offer is limited to the number of organizers we have available in-stock. Once we sell out, this set will not be offered again. CLICK HERE to view the details in our shop and place an order.

5 Posts to Inspire Your Filofax Setup Organization

Getting a brand new Filofax to start off the new year is only part of the plan in getting organized and making it effective for your own needs. The modular system of being able to sort, divide and compartmentalize pertinent information means that you can tailor it a thousand different ways. Also, with a handy hole puncher and some downloadable templates, you can create your own style of inserts that better suits your organizer setup.

Here are some helpful Filofax setup links to get you started on your organizing journey.

Jagged Little Thoughts

My Home Filofax Setup - Laura (Jagged Little Thoughts)
Although a new Filofax does arrive with an assortment of inserts and refills to get you started, that's only the tip of the iceberg! Take Laura's organizer set up, for example. The at-a-glance "dashboard" at the front of the organizer puts important tasks and reminders front-and-center.

My Life as a Teacup

Anatomy of a Filofax - Kristin (My Life as a Teacup)
"Moving in" to a Filofax and making it feel like home is important to sustain the enthusiasm to keep one's life organized. Kristin takes a detailed approach to each feature of a productive, fun setup.

A Bowl Full of Lemons

My Filofax Organization - Toni (A Bowl Full of Lemons)
Being organized can be contagious and spread to your surrounding workspace. If you're serious about customizing your organizer, this is a setup that you need to take note of.

Wendaful

Personal & Business Financial Filofax Sections - Wenda (Wendaful)
There are a number of sources online that offer free printable templates for useful registers, tables and forms. One of the main uses of an organizer is to keep record of finances. Filofax does offer a couple of financial theme inserts, but these printable sheets are more specified.

Cre8tive Cre8tions

Planner Eyecandy - Andrea (Cre8tive Cre8tions)
Show off your flair and personality. Go to town with custom stickers, tape, printable pages and anything else you can imagine. Etsy can be a great resource for sourcing these creative, one-of-a-kind embellishments to your organizer.

Now that you've seen some creative uses of Filofax organizers, go forth and move into your own organizer and share the results with us on social media @goldspotpens

Use the hashtag #filofaxlove to show your setup to the Filo lovers everywhere.

Filofax 2016 Calendar Diary Inserts in BLUE Ink

To all of our Organized Filofax Fans,

Maybe it was the changeover in US distribution to "Blueline" Rediform, or it was the need for ruffling the feathers of dedicated Filofax users worldwide, but Filofax has printed a number of their 2016 organizer refills in blue ink instead of black.

This may not seem like Earth-shattering news for the rest of us, but for those who have been faithfully scheduling, to-doing and note-taking in their Filo's for years, this is a matter of grave importance. It's like when Spotify changed their logo color to a solid, electric green. It's offensive and irritable to its core users.

We've recently updated all of our 2016 calendar refill photos to show the correct ink color appearance and layout of the inserts. Oh, and that's another thing - the layouts on certain week-to-view style inserts have been slightly tweaked.

See the 2016 week on two pages below. Filofax added a "This Week" section to the top-left of the layout. The left-side was originally divided into larger sections for the first three days of the week. The right side would have had Thursday, Friday and the weekend would have been split in the lower right-hand side.

New 2016 Blue ink refill with updated layout

So far, the response to this refill change hasn't been the most welcome. We've forwarded all complaints to Filofax to provide them valuable user feedback. Perhaps they may learn from this lesson to keep their core organizer users happy by sticking with a format that wasn't broken to begin with. Or perhaps crowdsource the design change by getting feedback from online Filofax communities like Philofaxy.

ORDER ALL SIZES OF 2016 FILOFAX CALENDAR REFILLS HERE

Best,
The Goldspot Team

Limited Filofax Malden and Original Organizers Now Available

" rel="canonical" /> As many of you know, it's been very sporadic as to when we can expect more highly sought after Filofax organizers to arrive. Today was one of those days that took us by surprise. Quite a delightful surprise, indeed!

This afternoon, we received and checked in a limited number of Filofax Purple Malden Organizers in Personal and A5 size & Filofax Original Organizers in Patent Purple, Patent Fuchsia, Patent Black and Retro Brown. Quantities are very limited, so be sure to act quickly!

As always, any of our customers who had placed an order after we sold out last time will get their order filled first. For everyone who has been waiting to buy one, we've got them up on our website until we sell out, which shouldn't be long.

If you are interested in placing a new order, you will get complimentary shipping on all Filofax Malden and Original Organizers to anywhere within the US, which is shipped via Priority Mail service. No promo code required!

Filofax 2014 Refills Now In-Stock and Ready to Rock

Hey Filo-philes and Filofax fans,

We have just received our first shipment of 2014 refills available in all the assorted sizes and varieties needed for your organization needs. Choose from week on two pages, week per page, day per page, month on two pages and so on and so forth. We have mini, pocket, personal and A5 size Filofax refills.

As you can see in the photo below, Filofax has re designed their cover packaging of their calendar refills for 2014.

Holy smokes that's a lot of paper. Our inventory and shipping manager took a day off today and we're just going to leave this little present for him to organize on Monday.  :0) Just kidding, Bob.

Please note that all Filofax organizers being sold from our company are hand checked for quality assurance and are included with 2013 and 2014 calendar refills with our compliments. If you are ordering a new organizer, do not worry about ordering the 2014 refill separately, unless you want another format besides week on two pages.

You Design the Next Filofax Organizer for 2011

Calling all Entries! Filofax USA is challenging its fans to create an organizer design that will be produced in 2011. That's right, see your very own homegrown design in the hands of thousands. The Filofax Designers Challenge is open from October 28th to January 15th 2011. They are looking for creative minds to produce an organizer that continues Filofax's long line of success by dreaming up an exciting design that is fashionable, functional, aspirational and affordable.

Winners of the contest will be picked by a panel of judges with the prizes as follows (posted from Filofax USA's website)

• First Prize (1) : -  U.S. $2,500,  production and international distribution of your design*, and inclusion in Filofax's ‘Winner’s Circle’ promotions!
• Second Prize (1) : U.S. $1,000 and inclusion in Filofax's ‘Winner’s Circle’ promotions.
• Third Prize (1):  U.S.  $500 and inclusion in Filofax's ‘Winner’s Circle’ promotions.
• 5 Honorable Mention Prizes will each receive a U.S. $100 gift certificate redeemable at www.filofaxusa.com and inclusion in Filofax's ‘Winner’s Circle’ promotions.

This is an exciting opportunity for people who are Filofax fans and very handy or crafty. Personally, I would like to see a Filofax that can accept Rhodia paper and had pages that can be interchangeable without opening & closing the rings. I know, sounds a lot like a Circa. A leather embossed outer cover would be pretty sweet as well.

Between this an the Parker Write Big contest we posted about yesterday, are we starting to see a trend develop?

 

 

 

Starting a New Venture

Headed back to school? Want to start a new business? Want to create your own home office? We all have our reasons to hunker down and get busy. I was recently watching the first episode of the Food Network Show 24 Hour Restaurant Battle. The premise of the "reality contest" is two teams of two people face off against each other to prepare a menu, create a "front of the house" and get a fully working restaurant together in 24 short hours. The rules are explained to the contestants and the clock starts ticking. What's the first thing that happens?

Out come the notebooks and pens!

"Fail to plan, plan to fail." - old proverb

Before getting their hands dirty chopping, dicing and decorating, everything is listed, sketched and noted prior to action. This is essential when jumping into a new project or venture. There needs to be a strategy, a plan of attack that can be best laid out on paper.

Here's what you need:

• A writing instrument
• A surface to write on
• Paper
• Ideas

I would say that, based upon the project you're starting up and your own preference toward fine pens and stationery would depend on the types or brands of products that you would be reaching for in the brainstorming session. For the design oriented, focused on creating a product or website, go with a Rhodia graph notebook with at least on mechanical pencil, like the Caran d'Ache Metal collection. For the artistic, try a Moleskine sketchbook (large is a great size for scanning on a typical flatbed scanner or all-in-one) along with rollerball pen that can accept fibertip refills. The culinary inclined can make great use of a Passions Recipe Journal. Running a babysitting service? A Filofax Organizer is the tops for keeping track of all your appointments and client's requests. If you're planning on a start up company and have to fill out all those legal forms, do it with style using a fountain pen.

The most important part is to have a place to do your thinking and planning that can be your go-to escape from the rest of the world. Whether it be a desk or a part of the kitchen table, this spot has to be yours and it has to have all of your materials readily accessible so that you can get working at a moments notice to get those ideas out and on paper.

Has anyone started anything recently that they would like to share? Any particular office supplies and/or fine writing instruments assist in the creative process?

Conquer Technology and Get it Done

We are meant to believe that the newest technological wonder is supposed to make our lives easier and more simplified. Part of living easy is being able to do your work quicker and more effectively, so you avoid long hours at the office and unnecessary stress. Think of all the smartphone, iPad and car commercials that you see. How many of you feel as carefree and at peace as those people on the advertisement?.... Don't raise your hands all at once...

Stever Robbins, author of the future best-selling book 9 Steps to Work Less and Do More, also has a podcast (which is one of my favorites to listen to), which offers bite-size tips to improve your productivity and business relationships. On a guest post about 3 secrets for doing less and working more, Stever brings up an important topic that he also writes about in his book : Conquering Technology!

If you were to imagine your version of a perfect world, would it even have half of the gizmos and gadgets that we use in our daily lives? On my "deserted island" scenario, I wouldn't bring my cellphone (there's no 3G coverage) or my laptop (only 2 hours of battery life and no internet) but I would most likely bring my fountain pen, a bottle of ink and a few dozen notebooks to document my adventures. Gee, that works anywhere, regardless if the network is down or if you're out of reception!

For us to simplify our work and our lives, Stever writes that we need to evaluate how technology works / doesn't work for us. For keeping appointments and schedules, does a Filofax or the Outlook calendar better suit you? Is it easier to manage pen & paper contacts or do it digitally through your Gmail contacts?

Stever writes about task lists, "The task list on my phone and computer is more trouble than it’s worth. I routinely ignore any tasks that had scrolled off the screen, and scrolling down the interface takes ages. I jumped ship to a to-do list on a 3x5 notepad and pencil and I’ve been blissfully happy ever since" Couldn't agree more with you there, as I have post-it notes and my own paper task manager template to keep tabs on all the actionable items attached to projects.

Next time you hear, "there's an app for that," consider the prospect of using that new, flashy application against your current techniques of organization and communication. Just because there is a new iPhone that can do your taxes for you and tell you what a handsome person you are doesn't mean that it is going to be a vast improvement over your accountant and a mirror. Yet, conquering technology doesn't mean shunning it completely. It means making it work for you, as it is supposed to do.

Back to School Season for Adults?

This is a guest post written by Brian from OfficeSupplyGeek.com, the go-to website for in-depth reviews on cool and innovative office supplies. You can also find OfficeSupplyGeek on Facebook.

Back to School shopping was always fun when I was a kid, and even today I still fondly remember the excitement of picking out new pens, pencils and notebooks. Now, as an adult when I look back at those seemingly archaic items and how excited I was about getting them, I cant help but question whether the excitement was just because of the fact that I got to have “new stuff” or were these stationery items really just that cool for the time period I was growing up in?

If I force myself to answer that question, I’d have to say that, these products really were some of the best and coolest out there, even as I sit here looking at them thinking to myself “how did I ever get by with that stuff?” Part of the reason I think these were some of the best products available is because many of them are still available in almost the same exact form today. It doesn’t take much looking around to find the Bic 4 color multi pen, the Bic stick pen with the blue cap, the Pilot Precise line of liquid ink pens or the classic Five Star notebooks with plastic covers.

Now as an adult with my school years long behind me, I get to use lots of even more cool and innovative stationery products, but I feel like something is missing. It is hard to imagine anything could be missing though when I’m lucky enough to have such awesome products like my Uniball Kuru Toga Mechanical Pencil, Sharpie Pen, Lamy Studio fountain pen, and Levenger Circa notebooks to help keep me organized and performing at the highest level possible at work. So it got me thinking, what was missing?

As I contemplated what could possibly be missing from my completely lavish stash of stationery products, I realized it didn’t have anything to do with the products themselves, it had everything to do with the process of buying them and what it all meant. It dawned on me that there is no longer a ritualistic stockpiling of an arsenal of unsharpened pencils, pristine notebooks and never opened packages of pens. There is instead a slow steady accumulation of “stuff” over time on more of an as needed basis. As an adult you don’t have that “clean slate” that you start with from year to year that is signified by your new stash of supplies.

Now that I’ve realized what it is thats missing, it surprises me that none of the major office supply stores have tried to generate some sort of “Back to Work” shopping season for us adults. Now sure it would be hard to do because there is no real “season” since we all start and end our employment on different schedules, however I think I might at least try and do this for myself to instill that “clean slate” feeling for my work year. Maybe if I save the majority of my office supply shopping for January of each year I’ll have my own personal little “back to school” feeling about things. Regardless of how I go about it though, one thing is for sure, and that is that I’ll probably spend way too much money on new office supplies, and a few years from now I’ll look back at how I ever managed to get anything done with these archaic tools.

Free Download - Paper Task Manager

I know we mostly talk about pens on this blog, but the other half of the equation sometimes needs its due : Paper. I love "GTD." As our society gets progressively more hyped on technology and endlessly busier, we need to organize the barrage of "things" that get thrown at us on a daily basis. "To Do" lists are too general and don't help us separate the the truly actionable items from the multi-step projects. Yet, everyone writes them out every time they feel overwhelmed. How many times have you created a "To Do" list that never gets done? Simply listing tasks may only work if you're doing one thing (i.e. going to the grocery store). But we Americans love to multi-task and a linear "To Do" list falls apart at the seams when it comes to managing an influx of multiple, yet separate, projects. The Paper Task Manager is a unique, three-column design that breaks down a multi-faceted work flow into three separate parts. First, you have your "Next Actions." That is the very next action, whether it be a phone call, signing up for the gym or getting the oil changed. It is only ONE action and does not require any other steps to complete. An Action may be part of a bigger project. As a part of a project, the "Next Action" should progress the "Project" one-step toward completion. The middle "Waiting For.." column is for a piece of information or contribution from someone else that you are waiting on to further the current project. How to use... Let's say your Mom nominated you to host July 4th festivities this year. Even if you're getting it catered and having butlers serve you hand and foot, this is still considered a "Project." So write, "July 4th get-together" in the Project column. Problem is, you're not a very good cook, but you want to impress your Mom by making Grandma's Famous Red Bliss Potato Salad. Your "Next Action" would be to call Grannie to ask her the recipe. If she has to get it in her cookbook, but can't seem to find it at the moment (oh, that forgetful Grannie), she will have to call you back. Now, you're "Waiting For" Grannie to call you back with the recipe. Now that you've written it down, it is safe to move on to another action, like Googling a local catering company. How to get your Paper Task Manager sheets : click on the thumbnail images of the sheets in this post. A separate pop-up window should come up with the .jpg image of the paper. Download it or print it directly from your web browser.

There are two types that I've come up with : The full-page version for many tasks and projects, and the 2 half-page version, which is ideal if you have a work / home division (which is good) that you would like to see at the same instant. The idea is to have a high altitude to see all of the "stuff on your plate" at any given time.

You can print these pages on any normal inkjet or laser printer. I would recommend color copies because....well...it's pretty. If you need to, you may have to select an option to "shrink to fit page." Print as many as you'd like, but you will probably need one for the moment and then have backups when you've made progress on all of life's complicated tasks.

Sit down with this page and think of all the open ends in your life. Alternatively, take a walk around your home or office and you may be quickly reminded of a project that was never quite finished, situation that went unresolved, etc. Write them all down in the "Project" column and figure out the very "Next Action" that needs to happen to move the project toward completion.

The Paper Task Manager also works exceptionally well in a notebook, whether it be 3-ring binder or a Levnger Circa (I prefer the latter). Put it at the very front of your organizer so when you first open the cover, you will see where you left off from yesterday. When I get back from a meeting or a long phone call, I always check back with my sheet to see what can be worked on next.

So, if anyone gets the chance to try out the system, please drop me a comment and let me know how it worked for you and if there are any suggestions to make it better. Hopefully, it will help some poor, Post-It dependent, To-Do lister out there make a more comprehensive assessment of their tasks.

-- Republished with permission from www.tomoddo.com

Introducing Contact Keeper and a Giveaway

Goldspot Pens would like to introduce the Contact Keeper, an innovative system of organizing your business cards and contact information. If you've ever met a new business contact and had to scribble down notes on the back of their business card, you will know how much of a hassle it is to jot notes about the meeting on such a small area with nothing to rest the writing surface on. Contact Keeper provides the necessary writing surface to take detailed notes for every new contact's card while keeping your collection organized and easy to reference.

To see the Contact Keeper in action, play their video below :



 This is a great organizational tool for everyone in business from salesman to the CEO. Think of all the people you meet that hand over a business card. Can you find the card of the last person you met and recall the details of your conversation with that person? If you're still shuffling through your desk or your briefcase, then you could probably use the Contact Keeper.

If you need further convincing, read OfficeSupplyGeek's review of the Contact Keeper.

We're so eager to share this product with you that we are going to give-away one small Contact Keeper for on-the-go contact management. On Monday, June 14th, we will choose one random person who comments on this post or re-tweets this post on Twitter as the winner of the give-away.

New Tuesday : Filofax Mode Academic Organizers

One day removed, but still fresh. For our New Tuesday weekly post, we have our first shipment of Filofax Mode organizers. Colorful, durable and inexpensive, these planners are great for students in high school or college who need to keep track of homework, class schedules, study groups and club meetings, etc. 

Grown-ups, don't be shy! If you're still young at heart and don't have the budget for a leather-covered organizer, the Filofax Mode is for you. Besides being a calendar diary for appointments, the included complement of notepaper, address sheets, index tabs and to-do sheets can help you organize just as well as the higher-end organizers we offer. An elastic "Livestrong"-like band keeps your organizer closed and secure.

The prices are very reasonable for a fully-stocked planner : $23.95 for the pocket-size, $27.95 for the personal (larger) size. Goldspot also offers paper refills for all of the organizers we sell. Shipping on our paper refills only starts at $3.25 for first class within the US. By the way, 2010 calendar refills are currently being printed and should be available for sale by the end of the summer.