Monday, April 24th, 2006...11:28 pm
Who is Tickling Whom?
OK…So I got your attention. Let’s talk tickling for a minute, shall we?
If you have been practicing Getting Things Done® for very long, you have most certainly heard the term “tickler file”. If you have not, let me suggest you pick up a copy of David’s book, and read Chapter 7 Organizing: Setting Up the Right Buckets. I will not go over the whole concept here. Michael will cover it at a high level in a couple of weeks when he goes over Chapter 7 (go get the book anyway, for better implementation get basic concepts through the primer, then READ THE BOOK).
For me, there are two types of tickler files…a stationary tickler…and a portable tickler. Most use one or the other, and some use a combination of both. Of course the stationary tickler is the old trusty file cabinet. Typically, a stationary tickler takes one drawer. To set up, you need 43 folders, 12 for the months of the year, and 31 for each day of the month (Oh, and a good labeler). The technical aspect of whether to jam the folders in or use hanging files, I will save for another discussion.
Personally, I prefer a portable tickler. A portable tickler is just what it sounds like. Something you can put in your laptop bag and haul with you. Some choose to put a folder for that day from a stationary tickler in their bag. If that works for you, that is a good approach. However, I like to have the whole file in my bag so I can put things where they need to go when I am processing my inbox. I use the Everyday File by Globe-Weis for my portable tickler. It holds everthing I need and fits well into my Ogio City Corp.
What goes in my tickler? Any actionable item that is time sensitive, but does not need to be completed that day goes in. What does this include? The most obvious thing is bills. Bills come in. If you are like me, you do not like to turn them right back out the next day, but you want to be sure to get them out a few days before they are due. Sometimes it helps to print out emails about other action items, and place them in the tickler in the appropriate folder.
This works well for any item you need to follow up on later…
- Tax forms (YUCK!!!)
- Reminders of birthdays
- Follow up on delegated items
- Follow up with a point of contact or a customer
- Check on orders if not delivered by a certain date
- Tickets to events (In my case, hockey tickets ;^))
Setting up an electronic tickler does not work well for me, personally. I need to reduce the number of buckets as much as possible. So I print out the item, and place it in the tickler. No email or hard copy item? Use a 3 X 5 note card, jot down the action, and drop it in.
One important note…if you have an item that needs to be placed in one of the month folders (will not be processed in the current month), be sure to write the day you want to see it on your note or bill. This will save a few brain cells when you move them to the appropriate days upon doing your weekly review (you do one of those…don’t you?).
Again, the “tickler” is something that needs to be personalized to suit the need of each individual. The above is how I use mine.
How do you use your tickler? Have you developed any neat “tickler tricks”? Feel free to share your thoughts with us so we can all benefit from your experience with tickler files.
- Jason
8 Comments
April 25th, 2006 at 9:31 am
I keep a ‘micro’ daily journal on 3X5’s with my hPDA - During my weekly review the weekly recap is at hand and when the review is finished the cards are stapled together and plopped into the month folder.
At the end of the year I have a week by week accounting of my activities, should the need arise I can flip through the ‘packets’ for what I did and when.
Also a good source of AttaBoy feel good time.
TTFN
April 25th, 2006 at 11:18 pm
Lyndon,
That is a good approach. Currently I am working really hard at going a little more low tech with my system. I really think it may work better for me.
No one can get too much AttaBoy feel good mojo. Keep it up.
May 8th, 2006 at 6:33 pm
David Allen’s GTD and Outlook white paper has a useful technique for implementing electronic ticklers in Outlook.
May 11th, 2006 at 8:18 am
In the tradition of trying to reduce the number of inboxes I must deal with I use an electronic tickler called http://www.myticklerfile.com. I setup a tickler at this website with the pertient information, and voila I receive an email x number of days later reminding me to do something. Any hard copy materials get filed in my general reference filing system.
May 11th, 2006 at 9:47 am
speaker,
That white paper is really good. I just have a hard time maintaining it. If I do not have it sitting in front of me, I tend to let it slip my mind. For alot of people who are very diligent about checking those folders in Outlook, that works really well. Unfortunately, I must admit, I am not that disciplined.
sweens,
Coolness. That tool reminds me of Tracks, a tool that Michael and I both use. I may have to give it a run. Thanks for the input.
July 27th, 2006 at 4:58 pm
Does the Globe-Weis work as a “true” tickler file in the GTD sense? Just looking at it, I can’t quite grasp if there’s anyway to affect the order of things to, for example, the first thing I see upon opening it would be today. Granted, it’s late in the day and I’m running on fumes, but am I missing something?
August 31st, 2006 at 9:20 pm
I second Chris’s question: I picked up one of the Globe-Weis files, and the folders are in a fixed order. I guess one simply reorders them mentally…
August 31st, 2006 at 9:48 pm
Here’s a nice description I just found, FYI:
Conquer Your Desk Clutter with a Tickler File
http://www.janjasper.com/articles_tickler_file.html
“…The 1-31 slots are always used to hold papers for the current month; the 12 monthly slots are for future months. For example, during the month of March, the numbered slots hold papers for March, according to the day of the month when you’ll act on each paper. Every day, first thing in the morning, you remove the papers in that day’s slot and also check the next few days’ slots to see what’s coming up.
By the end of March, the 1-31 slots are empty, and ready to hold April’s papers. Now you’ll spend a few minutes doing the monthly ritual: Remove all the papers from the “April” slot, look at when they’re due, and insert them into the appropriate 1-31 day slots. Directions to a meeting on April 7 are put into the 7 slot. An agenda for a meeting on April 14 go in the 14 slot. Some items should be put in early –a birthday gift idea for a friend whose birthday is on the 20th should go in the 10 slot - this gives you time to shop and mail the gift.”
Hope this helps!
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