Sharpen a Hole Punch

I've had the same hole punch for many years, maybe even since I was in college. As I start to use my hole punch for my Filofax pages, I've noticed it has become dull. It is frustrating when it no longer punches a clean hole and catches on the paper, leaving the edges ragged. After a quick google search I discovered that you can easily sharpen your hole punches.

Items Needed:
Dull Hole Punch
Aluminum Foil
Paper to test

Instructions:
Clean your hole punch, pull off a piece of aluminum foil and punch holes in the foil several times. Once completed  test the sharpness on paper, if needed repunch the foil.

Avery Removable Label Pad

Product Description:

Fully removable adhesive lets you apply and remove as you wish

Labels stay in place and remove cleanly

Simply grab the nonstick tab to peel the label, apply and then tear the tab off or keep it on for easy removal

Sturdy backing card lets you write directly on the pad

Pad includes 40 labels of each color

I have a love affair with office supplies. While browsing thru a local drug store, I came across these on sale and picked up two packs, the 1" x 3" and 2" x 3" for my Filofax pages.  The seem to stick well to the planner pages, they are easy to write on, re-sticking doesn't seem to be a problem (although they do curl up when you remove them, they lay flat again when reattached) and they did not leave any residue on the paper. The removable tab seems a little wasteful but could be handy as a tab or a way to easily find the note. Sometimes my biggest complaint about non-post-it note labels is the ability to write on them, there seems to be a "waxy" cover on the note that doesn't accept sharpie ink. I was happy to see that was not the case with the Avery labels and even my favorite Sharpie Pen wrote with ease.

My one minor complaint is the tab. If you bend it all the way forward, there is a slight line of adhesive that gets exposed, not a huge issue but the planner pages behind the label could become "attached".

However, for the sales price, I wish I would have grabbed all the store had in stock.

Filofax Tabs

I am a little obsessed with my Filofax tabs (side tabs, top tabs, no tabs) and making sure they are the "right" ones to use for my setup and how my brain works. Honestly, I am a little obsessed with planners in general, and lists and paper and pens and the organization of my life. I know setting up planners is a very personal thing, but I feel like I look at the setup of others and compare to what works and doesn't for them. I was recently at a work conference and the lady across the table from me pulled out her binder, it was a very plane three ring binder and she had created her own setup. She had printed out her own calendar, her own to do lists, etc. As she flipped thru the pages I desperately wanted to ask her questions but didn't want her to think I was some stalker with three heads. It seemed like a good setup though, the paper was your standard printer paper, nothing fancy and looked like most of the inserts had been printed from outlook. So that got me to thinking that may I was making my binder way to difficult and needed to contemplate my choices. So I turned to my trusty area of great ideas and looked over all the great ideas I've seen and started to  re-look at how I organize.

I guess it boils down to, do I feel like I am using my planner appropriately? Am I getting the most bang for my buck. Is it keeping me  more organized and on track and cutting down on the forgetfulness and most of all helping me to achieve goals I set on that tab.

Also, what information do I need to keep track of and how do I need to keep track of it. After some contemplation, I did decide to keep it simple with only a few Main Tabs, interestingly enough this is almost identical to the setup I had ten years ago. After keeping a planner for many years, I gave it it up to just carry around a monthly at a glance calendar. But late last year something clicked and I dug the Filofax back out, brushed off the dust and reopened it. Hopefully to a more organized me.