As part of my ongoing GTD Thirty Day Challenge, I wanted to talk about how you should set up a tickler file.
David Allen seems to be big on using 43 folders for his tickler file. These folders would be made up of 12 monthly folders and 31 daily folders. Let's say it is now January and I'd have all my daily folders behind the January folder. When a day ends, that day's folder goes behind the next month or February's folder. Looking at the 19th, I'd have the folders 1-18 behind the February folder at this point.
How does this work? Let's say I got a bill today that I was due on February 3. Since it's important that I remember, I would put it in the February 3rd folder. When February 3 arrives, I would look in my tickler file and it reminds me to pay the bill.
If you asked me, I think using 43 folders for my tickler file is not the best way to set up a tickler file. First, it's hard to remember to check the tickler each day. You'll be asking yourself, "how do I remind myself to check the tickler file?" Secondly, it's very bulky and not very portable. Third, when you move the folders for each day to the next month you have to take items in that months folder and put them in the right day.
For GTD, the tickler file set up is essential because you have to have a way to remind yourself of future actions. If you are a person who has tons of physical paper items then a foldered style tickler is the way you want to set it up. For me though, my work doesn't create many physical items and so I have a different method to setting up my tickler file to solve the above problems.
How I Set Up My Tickler File
The first thing to do is to create a plastic folder for your briefcase called "Waiting For" and put all the things you need to remember in the future in it.
After that, I would create a folder in my email setup called "Yahoo Reminders". If you look at my folder setup in my other article called How To Set Up Your GTD email, you can see how I have this set up. I then filter all of my Yahoo reminders into this folder and they bypass my inbox.
Finally, I use my Yahoo! calendar, to enter any item I need to remember and make it an "all day event" with an email reminder scheduled to be sent to me 2 days prior to when I need to do it. As a back up, I also have it text to me as well.
So, let's take the above scenario again. I got a bill today that I need to remember on the 3rd of February. I go to my Yahoo! calendar and enter an all day event "Pay important bill" with a reminder scheduled for two days prior. I then take the bill and put it in my "Waiting For" folder in my briefcase.
When February 1st rolls around, I get an email from Yahoo that tells me I have to pay the bill on the third. This email goes directly into my Yahoo! reminder folder. I also get a text message as a back up. I do both text and email because it's a good backup for when I don't have access to my Yahoo! Reminders folder from my Blackberry, I've got a text as well sitting right there. Each day, I review my reminders folder or my Blackberry for ticklered items.
This system works fantastic for me. It's extremely portable, it reminds me automatically and I don't have to rethink the items in my tickler when I move the tabs. If you are not using email reminders to help you remember stuff, you have no idea how this can effect your productivity. Even if you use 43 folders, I recommend email reminders 100% to be a part of your GTD system.
That is my version of how to set up a tickler file for maximum effectiveness. - 15266
David Allen seems to be big on using 43 folders for his tickler file. These folders would be made up of 12 monthly folders and 31 daily folders. Let's say it is now January and I'd have all my daily folders behind the January folder. When a day ends, that day's folder goes behind the next month or February's folder. Looking at the 19th, I'd have the folders 1-18 behind the February folder at this point.
How does this work? Let's say I got a bill today that I was due on February 3. Since it's important that I remember, I would put it in the February 3rd folder. When February 3 arrives, I would look in my tickler file and it reminds me to pay the bill.
If you asked me, I think using 43 folders for my tickler file is not the best way to set up a tickler file. First, it's hard to remember to check the tickler each day. You'll be asking yourself, "how do I remind myself to check the tickler file?" Secondly, it's very bulky and not very portable. Third, when you move the folders for each day to the next month you have to take items in that months folder and put them in the right day.
For GTD, the tickler file set up is essential because you have to have a way to remind yourself of future actions. If you are a person who has tons of physical paper items then a foldered style tickler is the way you want to set it up. For me though, my work doesn't create many physical items and so I have a different method to setting up my tickler file to solve the above problems.
How I Set Up My Tickler File
The first thing to do is to create a plastic folder for your briefcase called "Waiting For" and put all the things you need to remember in the future in it.
After that, I would create a folder in my email setup called "Yahoo Reminders". If you look at my folder setup in my other article called How To Set Up Your GTD email, you can see how I have this set up. I then filter all of my Yahoo reminders into this folder and they bypass my inbox.
Finally, I use my Yahoo! calendar, to enter any item I need to remember and make it an "all day event" with an email reminder scheduled to be sent to me 2 days prior to when I need to do it. As a back up, I also have it text to me as well.
So, let's take the above scenario again. I got a bill today that I need to remember on the 3rd of February. I go to my Yahoo! calendar and enter an all day event "Pay important bill" with a reminder scheduled for two days prior. I then take the bill and put it in my "Waiting For" folder in my briefcase.
When February 1st rolls around, I get an email from Yahoo that tells me I have to pay the bill on the third. This email goes directly into my Yahoo! reminder folder. I also get a text message as a back up. I do both text and email because it's a good backup for when I don't have access to my Yahoo! Reminders folder from my Blackberry, I've got a text as well sitting right there. Each day, I review my reminders folder or my Blackberry for ticklered items.
This system works fantastic for me. It's extremely portable, it reminds me automatically and I don't have to rethink the items in my tickler when I move the tabs. If you are not using email reminders to help you remember stuff, you have no idea how this can effect your productivity. Even if you use 43 folders, I recommend email reminders 100% to be a part of your GTD system.
That is my version of how to set up a tickler file for maximum effectiveness. - 15266
About the Author:
Dojo Kuhn has been using GTD since 2005. To assist people set up their Getting Things Done system, he developed a free GTD Thirty Day Challenge that you can use to assist you set up your system. You can also find a video of how to set up a tickler file that shows you how he uses a tickler file.
