On Day 6 of the GTD Thirty Day Challenge, I am going to talk about how I set up my tickler file and exactly how to set up a 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.
What happens when I use my tickler file? If I get a bill that is due on February 3rd, and I want to remember to pay it on that day, I would stick the bill in my February 3rd folder. On February 3rd when I look at my tickler, I'd see the bill and remember to pay it.
Personally, I am not a big fan of the tickler file for three reasons. The first reason is that it's really hard to remember to check. You'll hear people ask "how can I remember to check my tickler file?" The second reason is that it is not very portable. It's a bulky way to remember things as a they come up. The third reason is each month that you move the tabs, you have to figure out what day items in that month go into and file them a second time.
The tickler file is essential to your GTD set up, however, because you have to remember future items. If you have a lot of physical items then the tickler file is the way to go. In my case, I don't have tons of physical items and so here is my solution to the above problems with a tickler file.
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.
The final component of my tickler file setup is Yahoo calendar. Anything I need to remember on a certain day gets entered as an all day event. An email reminder is associated with the event and a email goes out 2 days before I need to remember to do it. I also have it send me a text as a backup.
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.
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 system is an extremely portable and streamlined tickler file. Everything reminds me on it's own and I don't have to move items around in my tickler file. Email reminders are awesome to remind you of things you have to do and you have no idea how much this helps your productivity until after you use them. If you use 43 folders, I'd still suggest using email reminders 100% to improve your GTD setup.
Once I learned how to set up a tickler file in this fashion, it improved my effectiveness at remember everything to a complete level. - 21151
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.
What happens when I use my tickler file? If I get a bill that is due on February 3rd, and I want to remember to pay it on that day, I would stick the bill in my February 3rd folder. On February 3rd when I look at my tickler, I'd see the bill and remember to pay it.
Personally, I am not a big fan of the tickler file for three reasons. The first reason is that it's really hard to remember to check. You'll hear people ask "how can I remember to check my tickler file?" The second reason is that it is not very portable. It's a bulky way to remember things as a they come up. The third reason is each month that you move the tabs, you have to figure out what day items in that month go into and file them a second time.
The tickler file is essential to your GTD set up, however, because you have to remember future items. If you have a lot of physical items then the tickler file is the way to go. In my case, I don't have tons of physical items and so here is my solution to the above problems with a tickler file.
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.
The final component of my tickler file setup is Yahoo calendar. Anything I need to remember on a certain day gets entered as an all day event. An email reminder is associated with the event and a email goes out 2 days before I need to remember to do it. I also have it send me a text as a backup.
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.
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 system is an extremely portable and streamlined tickler file. Everything reminds me on it's own and I don't have to move items around in my tickler file. Email reminders are awesome to remind you of things you have to do and you have no idea how much this helps your productivity until after you use them. If you use 43 folders, I'd still suggest using email reminders 100% to improve your GTD setup.
Once I learned how to set up a tickler file in this fashion, it improved my effectiveness at remember everything to a complete level. - 21151
About the Author:
Dojo Kuhn has been practicing GTD since 2005. To assist you set up their Getting Things Done system, he developed a unique 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.
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