In this lesson of the GTD Thirty Day Challenge we are going to talk about how to set up a tickler file, or specifically, how I set up my tickler file.
From what I can tell, David Allen is a big believer in the 43 folders tickler file. If you haven't seen a tickler file before, it is 12 folders for each month and 31 folders for each day. Right now it's January so I'd have my 31 folders behind January. As each day passes, I'd move the previous date behind February. Since today is the 21st for me. Folders for days 1-20 would now be behind the February tab.
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.
I really do not like using 43 folders for my tickler file. For starters, it's hard to remember to check it every day. People then have to remember to check it and they'll start to ask themselves "how do I remember to check my tickler file?" The next reason is it is very bulky and not very portable. Finally, when you move the daily folders behind the next month, you have to remember to move the items in that months folders to the proper 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 To Set Up A 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.
In the above example, the bill I got needed to be remembered on February 3rd. I enter the all day event on the third like "Pay very important bill" and by default it sends me an email reminder two days before it occurs. The actual physical bill goes into my "Waiting For" folder in my briefcase.
On February 1st, an email is sent ot me that reminds me I have to pay a bill on the third. The email bypasses my inbox and is filtered into my Yahoo reminder folder. As a backup, I get a text message too. Using text and email both gives me a backup in case I can't check my Yahoo reminders folder I then have a reminder sitting on my blackberry too. I review my reminders each day on my Blackberry and if I am at my computer, I review them too.
This setup is especially lightweight and extremely portable. It reminds me of everything so I do not have to remember to check. I also don't have to move stuff around in my tickler file. If you don't use email reminders, you really don't have any idea how valuable they can be. My suggestion is use them, even if you use the 43 folders as your tickler file. They will improve your GTD system 100%
That is my version of how to set up a tickler file for maximum effectiveness.
From what I can tell, David Allen is a big believer in the 43 folders tickler file. If you haven't seen a tickler file before, it is 12 folders for each month and 31 folders for each day. Right now it's January so I'd have my 31 folders behind January. As each day passes, I'd move the previous date behind February. Since today is the 21st for me. Folders for days 1-20 would now be behind the February tab.
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.
I really do not like using 43 folders for my tickler file. For starters, it's hard to remember to check it every day. People then have to remember to check it and they'll start to ask themselves "how do I remember to check my tickler file?" The next reason is it is very bulky and not very portable. Finally, when you move the daily folders behind the next month, you have to remember to move the items in that months folders to the proper 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 To Set Up A 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.
In the above example, the bill I got needed to be remembered on February 3rd. I enter the all day event on the third like "Pay very important bill" and by default it sends me an email reminder two days before it occurs. The actual physical bill goes into my "Waiting For" folder in my briefcase.
On February 1st, an email is sent ot me that reminds me I have to pay a bill on the third. The email bypasses my inbox and is filtered into my Yahoo reminder folder. As a backup, I get a text message too. Using text and email both gives me a backup in case I can't check my Yahoo reminders folder I then have a reminder sitting on my blackberry too. I review my reminders each day on my Blackberry and if I am at my computer, I review them too.
This setup is especially lightweight and extremely portable. It reminds me of everything so I do not have to remember to check. I also don't have to move stuff around in my tickler file. If you don't use email reminders, you really don't have any idea how valuable they can be. My suggestion is use them, even if you use the 43 folders as your tickler file. They will improve your GTD system 100%
That is my version of how to set up a tickler file for maximum effectiveness.
About the Author:
Dojo Kuhn has been using GTD since 2005. To help people set up their Getting Things Done system, he created a unique GTD Thirty Day Challenge that you can use to help 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.
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