Guest Post: When correspondence was by paper by GMax

Thank you to GMax for this guest post, I never knew about these 'inserts' very useful. 

Younger readers may not even be able to imagine a time when paper was really the only common medium for writing and sending messages, but it wasn't that long ago. Even the new-fangled fax machines used paper. (I will steer clear of telegrams at this point, in case we have another Morse code outbreak like the other week!)

The Filofax range used to include specific inserts for the purpose. Around 1987 (when, admittedly, the sheer variety of specialist leaves offered was starting to get a bit silly) one could buy envelopes like these in white, pink, lavender, fawn, grey or blue!

They were slightly larger than the standard inserts of course, but would still fit nicely in the wallets.

For special occasions one could send a Filocard.

The designs were Punch magazine cartoons. This one was a dig at the 1980s trend associating a large and well stuffed Filofax with a successful career and busy social life.

Office life prior to the widespread adoption of networked PCs involved a lot of circulating paper. So rather than sending an email you would very probably use a memo.

I wonder if anyone out there remembers using any of these?

Free Filofax diary inserts to print on Letter paper - week on two pages

As promised, here are some more sets for you; this time they are all week on two pages layouts.

These diary sets have been available for some time now for people to download and print on A4 paper. Ray and I have posted them here and on My Life All In One Place and they've proved popular. Now we are making available versions that will print on Letter paper, the North American standard. You can download whichever of these you want to try - or all of them if you like.

Each prints out on Letter paper, double sided. Each Letter sheet will contain two double-sided Personal Filofax pages, with crop marks showing you where to cut using a craft knife and ruler to release the individual pages. The templates are set up with mirrored gutters to accommodate the holes.

You can download and print finished versions for this year from our diary inserts page. These come as Word documents or PDFs. If using the PDF be sure to set it to print at full size as explained here.

But if you want to use these layouts as a starting point for your own personalised creation, then you'll need to download the base Word file and the Excel data source. When you've made all the changes you like to the template, you can perform a mail merge to create your own insert for any period you like. Check out our Free Diary Inserts link if you want more information on how to do this, including videos.

So, here are today's layouts.

1. Week on two pages - TM

This is one of our most popular layouts, based on Filofax's Time Management inserts.

You can download and print finished versions for this year from our diary inserts page.

Download source files: Word file and Excel file (you'll need both)

2. Week on two pages - CC

This version is based on Filofax's Cotton Cream layout and doesn't give weekends the usual short shrift.

You can download and print finished versions for this year from our diary inserts page.

Download source files: Word file and Excel file (you'll need both)

3. Week on two pages - Vertical

For people whose weeks contain a lot of scheduled appointments, this layout helps you see it all.

You can download and print finished versions for this year from our diary inserts page.

Download source files: Word file and Excel file (you'll need both)

4. Week on two pages - Landscape

Something a little different this time. Filofax's landscape layout is rather discourteous to the weekends, so this version treats them more generously..

You can download and print finished versions for this year from our diary inserts page.

Download source files: Word file and Excel file (you'll need both)



This work by Philofaxy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. Please download, adapt, use, share, but don't charge or use commercially.

Free Filofax diary inserts to print on Letter paper

These diary sets have been available for some time now for people to download and print on A4 paper. Ray and I have posted them here and on My Life All In One Place and they've proved popular. Now we are making available versions that will print on Letter paper, the North American standard. You can download whichever of these you want to try - or all of them if you like.

Each prints out on Letter paper, double sided. Each Letter sheet will contain two double-sided Personal Filofax pages, with crop marks showing you where to cut using a craft knife and ruler to release the individual pages. The templates are set up with mirrored gutters to accommodate the holes.

You can download and print finished versions for this year from our diary inserts page.

These come as Word documents or PDFs. If using the PDF be sure to set it to print at full size as explained here.

But if you want to use these layouts as a starting point for your own personalised creation, then you'll need to download the base Word file and the Excel data source. When you've made all the changes you like to the template, you can perform a mail merge to create your own insert for any period you like. Check out our Free Diary Inserts link if you want more information on how to do this, including videos.

So, here are today's layouts.

1. Day per page

This is the classic layout, featuring appointment times and with space for notes and actions.

You can download and print finished versions for this year from our diary inserts page.

Download source files: Word file and Excel file (you'll need both)

2. Day per page minimalist

This version has a retro feel, harking back to desk calendars of old. There's no set structure; this is an insert you can use creatively.

You can download and print finished versions for this year from our diary inserts page.

Download source files: Word file and Excel file (you'll need both)

3. Day on two pages

For people whose days require a lot of organising, this layout spreads the day over a full view.

You can download and print finished versions for this year from our diary inserts page.

Download source files: Word file and Excel file (you'll need both)

4. Two days per page

When the standard week on two pages doesn't give you enough room each day, but you don't need a full page each day, this layout is a good compromise. This is available in three versions - plain, lined and lined with icons. The icons provide a quick way to record your mood and the prevailing weather.

Plain layout

You can download and print finished versions for this year from our diary inserts page.

Download source files: Word file and Excel file (you'll need both)

Lined layout

You can download and print finished versions for this year from our diary inserts page.

Download source files: Word file and Excel file (you'll need both)

Lined with icons

You can download and print finished versions for this year from our diary inserts page.

Download source files: Word file and Excel file (you'll need both)


This work by Philofaxy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. Please download, adapt, use, share, but don't charge or use commercially.