Tickler Files Explained
There is nothing new about the idea of tickler files. Tickler files, according to Wikipedia, were first used at the beginning of the 20th century to remind the lawyers of periodic tasks.
The theory behind a tickler file is you put items into a folder, then review it regularly. The most popular method ticklers is to use 43 folders: 31 for the days of the month, and 12 months.
How To Use A Tickler File
Using the 43 folder method: if you have an item you want to deal with by the end of the month, you file it under the number of the day you want to look at it. If it is in a future month, you would put it in that month. For instance, my car inspection is due in November. So in the November file I would put a note saying “get car inspected.” If you had information to take to a meeting on the 15th, you would put it in the 15 folder.
Once you have put things into the folders, you must process them. Every evening, you open up the folder for the next day number and take care of the items. At the end of the month, you take the contents of the next month’s folder and file it into the appropriate numbered folder.
A More General Tickler: 12 Folders
I do not use the daily folders in my system. Instead, I just have a folder for the month. This is mainly because most of the information I deal with is electronic. So the concert tickets for May are in the May folder; the tax information was in the March folder (when I needed to deliver the paperwork to my accountant).
At the end of every month, I look at the next month’s items and put them in a folder that lives on my desk. I make notations in my datebook/to do list indicating that there is paperwork to go with it. Everything lives in that file, and I never have to search for things.
Photo by jarrodtrainque
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