This is a bit like the ‘should I leave my boyfriend?’ question. No one can answer that except you. No one is living your life except you.
It is an eternal merry-go-round that many of us hop on and off over and over. We like the portability of the Personal but cannot fit everything in it and cannot fit larger things in it. So we switch to the A5 and thus begins a short honeymoon period where everything is all rosy-tinted. We can write nice and big, it is easy to print inserts and use existing papers (fold in half, cut and punch). But then the size and weight starts to factor in, it is a pain to carry around all the time so we don’t, and then we start missing things because we need something which is in our A5 but it is at home because it is too big to carry around.
Our internal dialogue goes something like this: I love my Personal, I really do. I can use it as a wallet, carry it with me all the time, it holds everything I want. I love it I do. Pity it isn’t just a teeny bit bigger because now it is getting full and also it won’t hold this large piece of paper which I really need. I know what the problem is – I need an A5. Okay this A5 is perfect. Look at those huge rings and I can use A5 papers folded in half and I can cut large articles out and I can write really big and oh I love this. Pity it is not so big and heavy. It takes up all the available space in my handbag and it is so heavy. Plus I now need to carry a separate wallet. Okay, I am going to have to leave it at home when I don’t absolutely need it. Damn, now I am missing things because I leave it at home and when I need something I don’t have it. So maybe I should change back to personal…….
I am a long-term A5 user who finally admitted defeat a few months ago and switched to Personal + A5. I carry the Personal with me absolutely everywhere I go. It is my wallet, keyring and planner, and holds to do lists and all of the information I need (contact details, client details, notes) when I am out and about (which I am, almost all day every day. On foot). I also have an A5 which holds more detailed information as well as bills to pay, and larger papers. I go through both planners regularly moving information I needed but didn’t have with me/didn’t need but had with me from one to another. I should also mention here that my work involves moving from place to place all day every day on foot. So carrying a very heavy Filofax really ruined my back and my shoulder. It would have been a different story if I drove everywhere or if my work involved sitting in one place all day.
I also used to be someone who wanted one planner that I could use for absolutely everything. But in that I admitted defeat also and changed to ‘one binder I that I can use for almost everything and another binder that holds the rest’ – so I use a Personal as my wallet and EDC (everyday carry) and A5 to hold everything else that I need less often.
This suits my life and my lifestyle. For now. But it may not suit yours.
Anyone want to share their stories?