Originally Posted by
petthefabric
Rob, what's a tickler file and how does it work?
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Hey petthefabric,
A tickler file is set up as follows: 31 files are numbered 1 through 31 (for the days of the month). An additional 12 files are labelled Jan., Feb. etc. 1 for each month. You put them in the file drawer from front to back as follows: File for the current month, file for the current day followed by the rest of the days left in the month in order, File for the next month and the days that have already passed in the current month, rest of monthly files in order. So right now, my file drawer looks like this from front to back:
July
3,4,5,6,7,8,9-31
Aug.
1,2
Sept, Oct., Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, March, April, May and June.
When you have something that needs to be done in a particular month down the road, you put it in the file labelled for that month. Say it's August and you've got a bill that needs to be paid next March. You put a reminder (either the bill, or a note to remind yourself in your file labelled March).
When March 1 comes around, you take everything in your March file and put it in the correct numbered file.
Each day you look at the file for that day, do whatever needs to be done and at the end of the day you move the now empty file to the next month.
At the end of the month, you move the now empty month file to the end of the line behind the month that comes before it.
I have mine set up with reminders for things that have to happen every month (like my dog's heartworm medication on the 18th) etc. And also with one time things like the paperwork that I need to fill out before a doctor's appointment next month -right now it's in the August folder and Bubba's heartworm medication reminder is in folder 18 so I will remember to do it July 18th. Before I set up my tickler file the Drs. paperwork would have been sitting in a pile with other paperwork that I was afraid to put away for fear of forgetting to do it and I would have been keeping it in my head that I needed to remember to do Bubba's heartworm medication. Some days my desk looked like a paper and mail hoarder lived there and my brain felt like a pinball machine because I was trying to mentally keep too many to do's in there at once. Now my desk is clear and I'm feeling less brain drain.
Hope that helps.
Rob