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Tuesday October 7, 2014
Traveller's Notes
Not sure how this started but during the summer I became very interested in the idea of Midori Travellers Notebooks and watched lots of You tube explanations of how you can make similar booklets yourself.
I then found "Ray" and My Life In One Place... and never looked back.
Ray really has his roots in project/time management - he has published a couple of helpful books on journalling etc which are well worth the small investment. However he has a stack of information and free downloads on his site for making your own inserts for a host of different booklet formats (much of it Filofax as well as Midori and Field Notebooks). His latest Midori inserts are for knitting and music.
I made small format booklets for everyone this year - no idea if they will be useful but it was a fun project. Above is the rather pleasing version for Deborah, and below is Helen's - George had one in black, Rob in grey, Alison in dark olive.
The pieces of leather were from a great supplier ("Steve") on the south coast - great in terms of customer service, product quality, and reasonable prices all for small quantities of leather (around 2mm thick) such as I needed. He is also obviously clear on the requirement for potential Midori and notebook makers and has "kits" precut to the various size formats. You can see his wares on eBay (leather4craft) or at his website.
I did try to monogram each of them with a leather punch - a steep learning curve and by no means mastered yet. "It's harder than it seems". Luckily some of the recipients realise this. I think having your items monogrammed is very "smart" but having them monogrammed in wobbly letters is something else entirely.
Of course, I made my own small format notebook (similar to Helen's) and was initially cautious in my enthusiasm wondering if or when the novelty would wear off - but I have found it extremely useful and am keeping up with it quite well. I have implemented the monthly planner system (basically - a diary... but it's the way you use it that counts!). I do find the same observations still apply as when we all did the Time Manager courses in the 1980s (forerunner to the hand-held organiser ...) - fundamentally it works best when you are not too busy - when you get busy you do not have time to organise - always a mistake of course but nonetheless true. So it does not give you extra time back but it does help you use what you have more effectively.
It is Ray himself that has won me over though - his enthusiasm and love of the subject is totally charming whether he is managing time or working with leather, and his generosity in sharing his work and knowledge is much appreciated by his followers.
Posted by Christina at 11:18 AM. Category: Crafts
