Free Filofax A4 and A5 diary inserts for 2014 - download and print

The templates that Steve Morton and I created have proved very popular. They are a great way to try out a new format for a week or two without having to buy a whole year's worth of potentially wasted paper.

Although you'll still find the source files on this site to produce your own diary sets for any year (or any shorter period) people seem to like the convenience of downloading full year sets. Here are A4 or A5 sets for 2014. Personal and Pocket sets will follow.

Day per page

Original day per page:   Word file   PDF file
Day per page minimalist (narrow ruled):   Word file   PDF file
Day per page minimalist (wide ruled):   Word file   PDF file

Day on two pages

Original day on two pages:   Word file   PDF file

Two days per page

Two days per page (ruled):   Word file   PDF file
Two days per page (unruled):   Word file   PDF file

Week per page

Original week per page:   Word file   PDF file

Week on two pages

Week on two pages enhanced TM layout:   Word file   PDF file

Week on two pages journal layout (ruled):   Word file   PDF file
Week on two pages journal layout (unruled):   Word file   PDF file
Week on two pages new TM/journal layout:   Word file   PDF file
Week on two pages CC-inspired layout:   Word file   PDF file
Week on two pages vertical layout:   Word file   PDF file

Month per page

Original month per page: Word file   PDF file
Month per page with notes: Word file   PDF file

Month on two pages

Original month on two pages:   Word file   PDF file
Month on two pages with notes:   Word file   PDF file

Year planner

Original year planner:   Word file   PDF file

Fold out (Z fold) year planner:   Word file   PDF file


Each version is set up as an A4 document. To use them as A5 inserts, print the document in booklet mode on A4 paper, then use a guillotine to divide each sheet into two and punch the required holes, which the templates are set up with mirrored gutters to accommodate. Or, if you have A5 paper, then either the printer or the PC will scale it to size for you.

Free Don't Forget pages for Filofax Personal and Pocket

My attention was drawn on Philofaxy's Facebook page to a now obsolete Filofax insert called 'Don't forget'. This seemed to be rather like a to-do sheet but with three lines for each numbered action. I wasn't the only one who thought this would be a potentially useful insert, so I undertook to recreate something like it.

Here is the Personal Filofax version:

And here it is in Filofax Pocket size:

You can download either or both of these in a choice of formats. Print these double-sided. If you have a duplex printer, set it to flip on the short edge. If you don't then you'll have to print odd-numbered pages and then refeed to print the even-numbered pages on the reverse. You might have to experiment to find out how to refeed the paper.

On one side of each sheet you'll find crop marks. Use a craft knife and a steel ruler to release the Personal or Pocket pages and punch them. The templates are set up with mirrored gutters to accommodate the holes.

If using the PDF be sure to set it to print at full size as explained here.

Download the Personal size insert: Word file or PDF file

Download the Pocket size insert: Word file or PDF file

Make your own Filofax coupon tracking envelope

Coupons can save you money, but only if you use them before they expire. In the past I’ve tried burying them in a wallet or a drawer until they expire, but that doesn’t seem to achieve anything.

So now I am actively tracking my coupons and making sure I use them in good time. I’ve produced an envelope for the purpose.

Just like my Filofax expenses envelope, you can print this on a single sheet of paper, then fold and glue it into an envelope. On the front of the envelope you can keep track of your coupons and their expiry dates, and the envelope will safely hold those coupons so you’ll have them handy when the time comes to use them.

If you collect a lot of coupons, you could have one envelope for each store - or type of store - for which you have coupons.

You can download the envelope as an editable Microsoft Publisher file or as a PDF file. Either way, print the file, cut, fold and stick as shown in this video:

Free weekly habits tracker for your A5 Filofax

Experts seem to agree: lasting change comes from cultivating habits. Anyone who has ever lost weight, saved money or become fit will tell you as much. But cultivating habits is hard work.

My weekly habits tracker can help. Here it is:

Click to enlarge

Each week, the tracker will guide you through a four-step process that will help you develop habits in the areas of:

• Diet (either for weight reduction or for health)
• Exercise (any amount for any level of fitness)
• Money (either making it or saving it)
• Study (at any level, formal or informal)
• Karma (being nice, paying it forward or any aspect you choose)

I've left one space empty for you to add another if you want, but if you have a different set of things you want to track, you can change the table titles very easily.

The insert takes you through the following process:

Step 1: Decide on a goal for this week. For instance, earning a 4 every day would mean a score for the week of 28. Be realistic; think about what would represent a good performance for this particular week.

You'll need to think about what a top score of 5 every day (=35 for the week) would actually mean for you, and what a lower score would look like. Here, your life goals will guide you (because you do have life goals, right?) Also think about what else is happening in your life in the coming week and what compromises you might therefore have to make.


Step 2: At the end of each day, score yourself for each habit. A score of 1 indicates a poor performance that you are very unhappy with. A 5 indicates the best possible performance.

Be honest here. Look back each day at what you were hoping to achieve - what you think (say) a 5 or a 3 look like - and compare your actual performance.


Step 3: At the end of the week, calculate your total points and compare against your goals.

Just some adding up to do, and see how you performed against the targets you set at the start of the week.


Step 4: Reflect on this week and set yourself some commitments for next week.

Work out what you are proud of this week. Give yourself a pat on the back. Resolve to keep doing it.

Then think about what you plan to improve on next week.


If you're ready to start tracking your habits, you can download and print the insert. You can choose either the editable Word file or the PDF file. Choose the Word file if you want to change the standard habits to your own.

Each version is set up as an A4 document. To use them as A5 inserts, print the document in booklet mode on A4 paper, then use a guillotine to divide each sheet into two and punch the required holes, which the templates are set up with mirrored gutters to accommodate. Or, if you have A5 paper, then either the printer or the PC will scale it to size for you.

Make your own binder clip tabs

On my recent trip to Orlando, I bought a packet of binder clip tabs:

Once I was home, I set about making my own. I began with a postcard. Any piece of fairly thick card would do. I first cut out a rectangle shape from it, measuring about 40mm x 35mm:

These are for the small binder clips, which are 19mm wide, but you can scale up if you want to use larger ones.

Next, about 20mm from the top, I cut a slot 20mm wide and just 2mm tall, like this:

This bit is impossible with scissors, but a sharp craft knife does the job.

Here's the actual piece I cut out:

The next step is to attach the binder clip itself. I tried this a number of ways, most of which involved disassembling the clip, but I'm pleased to report you don't have to.

First, you have to put one of the binder arms through the slot you made and then poke the jaw through the hole, like this:

Now you can gently help the card find its way between the jaws until the clip is fully inserted, thus:

Here's how the finished clip now looks:

And here it is keeping my place in a magazine:

The accidental benefits of carrying a Filofax

I have twice in recent weeks been approached by people who – noting my Filofax – have struck up a conversation with me about it. One of those people reminisced at some length about how she had used one herself and how much more organised she was when she did. The other was a fellow user who had believed he was in a minority of one.

These conversations would never have happened had I not been carrying my Holborn at the time, and this thought made me reflect on what else might have happened purely because I carried this binder around with me.

For one thing, I tend to quickly create in new circles a reputation for being organised. I think the Filofax is a very visible signifier of organisational skills. This is odd really. The Filofax is a device to support organisation in the same way that glasses are a device to support vision, but do we congratulate glasses wearers on their excellent eyesight?

So by bestowing the aura of organisation, owning a Filofax gives us a perhaps unfair advantage, as well as a stand-by talking point. And this is on top of all the more tangible benefits it confers on us, like having important facts always to hand, being able to capture ideas instantly and being able to access appointment details irrespective of internet or power availability.

And there’s more too. The average wallet layout and capacity hasn’t changed in perhaps fifty years or more, despite the profusion of credit cards, loyalty cards and other essential items. Transaction counterfoils also need to be stored, whereas in past years the cheque stub would mean no counterfoil was necessary. With so much to carry, the typical wallet is close to breaking point. With a Filofax to share the load, however, two important benefits come to light: I can carry far more loyalty cards than would otherwise be the case, thereby scoring more freebies and discounts, and the line of my suit will be unspoiled by excess wallet bulge.

Traveler's Notebook decoration

One of the things I picked up on my recent trip to Florida was a leather punch alphabet kit.

It has allowed me to personalise my Traveler's Notebook (subtly and on the back, naturally.)