31 Jul 2010

how my finchley rose is organised: part 2b

Following on from the beast of the post 2a, here is the second part of part two. (Can I be any more confusing? Stay tuned and find out!)



As you can see from the picture, you can see a sticky note with the title 'The Drive of Life' and the numbers 1-60 written on it. This is because I am currently watching a Hong Kong drama from a few years back which I never finished. I am crossing off episodes I have seen as I watch them to make sure I can carry on where I left off.



Next, the week of the 19th of July. This is just to show you how I use my Filofax. As you can see, I use boxes and a to do list for each day if necessary and then I tick the box if I have accomplished that. Then I have sticky notes with various things stuck all over the place! I use the brown ruler as the 'real' today ruler and I use the black one for my lists tab as I am always adding to my 'to do before I die' list.



Onto my to do list. I colour code things according to urgency. Orange for things that need to be done before the start of my second year at uni, green for short term things (i.e. up to one month), pink for long term (up to 5 months), blue for immaediate (the coming week), purple for urgent (one to three days) and gold for other (the time frame specified). I can tick it off in the box when I've done the stuff. The urgency is written in it's required colour and then the actual to do item is written in my normal blue or black ink as that contrasts the colours best.

Finally, I have 'main' tabs which are: projects, diary and notes. I have found no use for the addresses tab apart from being a waste of space and the to do tab is not necessary for reasons explained in part 2a.

30 Jul 2010

how my finchley rose is organised: part 2a

So far, you've seen part one of how I've organised my filo. And honestly speaking, it was nothing interesting, yes? Well, here's part two, which I hope will be of much more interest to anyone who reads my blog.



Now, as you can see, I have used my leaflet stickets as mini tabs down the right hand side of my notes section. I actually got inspired by Gala Darling with this idea so I take no credit for this, except hers looks so much better than what mine do! But it will do for now until I can be bothered to be more creative with the tabs. Currently, I have eleven mini tabs but this will go down when my new filo comes as that will be my 'home' filo so a lot of the stuff can be transferred. Anyway, let me introduce my tabs to you:
  • To do list
  • Lists in general (Let me tell you, I looooooove making lists...)
  • Survey records (more on this in a bit)
  • Chinese
  • Finance Stuff
  • Blog stuff
  • London stuff
  • Next year's stuff
  • Intern, work experience, career 
  • Recipies
  • Biochemistry course information
Firstly: the to do list. I know there is a proper tab I can use for this but I feel to give a main tab of its own to only a few sheets of paper is silly and a waste of space, hence the mini tab.

Lists in general... well that kinda says it all really! I love making lists. Lists of things I want, lists of jars of sauces and cooking ingredients I have in my cupboard, lists of places I want to go to, a bucket list...anything!

My survey record is the mini tab that gets used on a daily basis. I do surveys for money online and I record what I did that day, what the survey code was, how much it was for and for which survey site. This way, I know my time doing those surveys wasn't wasted and I can chase them up if necessary.

The Chinese tab has a bit of history to it. Basically, my parents are both from Hong Kong (but I was born in Scotland!) and so my Chinese has a lot to be desired. I can speak Cantonese fluently and I can understand it fluently, however, my reading and writing are only at about 70% so I'm trying to make this 100%. I am also self teaching myself Mandarin Chinese though this method and I'm at about 40% fluency in Mandarin so far. As the Chinese say, 加油! Or, add oil which is kinda the English equivilant of 'Come on' or 'Keep going'.

Next, my finance tab. This is where I keep a record of how much I have spent, where and if I have any money coming in. I find this useful as sometimes, when it comes to checking my bank accounts via online banking, I sometimes forget where the money has gone and the codes the banks use for online banking can be hard to decipher.

Onto the blog tab which is pretty much self explanatory. Ideas for blog posts, ideas for a new layout, etc.

The London tab is useful as during term time, I'm in central London every single day. I have lists of places I want to see, useful numbers for taxi firms as well as other info which I might need while in London. Come to think of it, it might be a good idea to transfer my London underground map into this tab...

The next year tab is for where I'll be living next year. Here, we only get guaranteed university accomodation for the first year of study so next year I have had to find my own flat with friends. This means we will be moving into a different area to where we were last year (as last year, I was in Paddington and the daily commute into university for lectures meant walking through Hyde Park... but don't envy me for this as I was punished via hay fever in the summer!!). This tab has information for the new area, numbers of gas suppliers, etc.

My intern/work experience/career tab is basically a 'looking into the future' tab as I have no idea what I want to do after university. It looks like it is heading towards a Masters right now, but it's still good to explore career opportunities and the like.

Recipes are new things I want to try next year. I was pretty much conservative in what I cooked last year (i.e. low salt, low fat, yada yada) and next year I want to be a bit more adventurous with my palate.

And finally, the biochem course info. This is information including second year modules, third year option modules and other related information. Exam info also goes under here and sometimes, comments about lecturers I dislike!

28 Jul 2010

how my finchley rose is organised: part 1

I am going to start from the left to the right in terms of how I have organised my filofax.



Upon opening my filo, the first thing you will see are the business card insert to the right and the six card slots on the left. On the card slots, I have my National Insurance number card (everyone in the UK gets one as soon as they turn sixteen years of age...an age I have left behind for many years now for those who are curious), an organ donor card in case anything happens as my filo is always with me (morbid, but a fact of life that no one can predict the future and what will happen next), my NHS medical record card which has my NHS number on and finally, some gift vouchers from the charity shop I volunteer in every week.



I keep these things there because they are part of my identity and if I ever need them, they are on hand. The fact I had these things with me actually came in handy when I was filling in a registration form for a dentistry practice and needed my NHS number.

Next, the business card insert. This actually came with my Finsbury Raspberry Personal filofax but it has become so indespensible that I've transferred to my everyday filo. In the slots, I have the business card of my landlord (the white business card of which I have smudged all the details as I do not need people stalking me, not that I'm that interesting a person anyway...), two Luella cards which came with purses I bought from them and in case I ever want to sell those purses so I can guarantee authenticity and also some leaflet stickers and post it notes cut into halves.



The leaflet notes come in handy when I need to bookmark something in my filo for the next use or if I need to refer back and forth. The post it notes come in handy when I need to write something as a to do for a certain week, but have no space left. (This will become clear in part 2).

Next, is a London underground tube map. As a student in London, I may end up venturing into the east of London, of where I have no knowledge of! So this map comes in handy. As you can see, I made use of my personal filofax hole punch as this map is free from any underground station! Of course I'm not going to pay for an insert such as the London underground when it will most probably expand and change on a yearly basis with stations not in use, under reconstruction, etc. Or should that be construction? What on earth they are doing with Blackfriars station I will never know...



Finally, to conclude the first part of how my filo is organised, one of my clear plastic wallets. I have inserted a cutting I found in the Waitrose weekly paper which was to do with getting the ideal beach body. Even though I'm not planning on going on holiday this summer, I would like to become more toned seeing as I will not be playing sport as regularly as I did for these three months as I would do if I were to still be at university/in London.



So, this is just a glimsp (no idea how you spell that word!) into how I have arranged my filo. Part two coming soon...

27 Jul 2010

An Introduction

Hello :)

Somehow, you've stumbled upon my blog where the main topics will be shopping and fashion, as well as something called a Filofax.

Firstly, I'll introduce myself. I'm currently studying biochemistry at Imperial College and my timetable is pretty hectic with the workload heavy. Therefore, I need to be at my most organised in order to profit from the little time I have available to me. This is how my Filofax comes into play. Now, I don't have one Filofax...nor do I have two, but I have four! Well, four when my newly ordered ones come. I will be justifying this choice in another blog post, don't worry!

Secondly, for those who don't know, I love shopping and clothes. I like to study trends and how I can incorporate them into my current wardrobe. However, I am more of a classic dresser than a trend follower though occasionally, I do fully incorporate a trend. A few seasons back, there was the 'nude' colour trend which I loved so much, I still have plenty of 'nude' items in my wardrobe which I still wear now. This is how the classic dresser in me comes in. I wear what I think looks feminine, yet comfortable but also fashionable. Hard to illustrate this without pictures though and currently, I have none! My Filofax also helps here in that it helps me figure out what's currently in my wardrobe and it's also where I jot down outfit ideas for the coming week or according to weather, i.e. snow or heavy rain.

Finally, let me introduce you to my Filofax which is currently in use. It is a Finchley Vintage Rose which I got quite cheap, but new, off eBay. I pretty much love it; it lies flat, the leather is supple and it does exactly what I want it to do.


This is all I have to say for now. Expect the next post to either be Filofax related or fashion related :)