With the fast pace of life, things work a lot easier when we have systems in place to help keep things running smoothly. One simple, yet quite effective system that can be used is a tickler file.
A tickler file is used in addition to your calendar to remind you of things that you want to do. The system is a set of 43 folders; one labeled for each month of the year and the remaining folders labeled 1-31, for the days of the month. Anything that you want to be reminded of at a future date can be placed into the system days, weeks and months in advance. You can even set reminders within the system up to a year in advance.
This system is very simple to set up and pretty easy to use. The 31 folders representing the days of the month are placed in front of the folders labeled for each month of the year. Let me give you a snapshot of what this looks like when it’s set up. Let’s say it’s January 1st. On that day the “day” folder labeled “1” would be in front followed by folders 2-31. Behind those would be the folders labeled for each month, February through December. The January folder will be behind the December folder.
At the end of each month, the contents from the next folder are placed into the respective “day” folders. For example, going back to the snapshot, at the end of December, each of the items in the January folder would have been placed into the “day” folder that you wanted to set the reminder for. Once each item was placed into the day folder you’re wanted to set the reminder for, the January folder would have been placed behind the December folder.
So, at the start of your work day on January 1st, you would remove the contents in the folder for that day. These become part of the items that you work on for that day. Move the folder for that day to the end of the day folders. Those folders rotate just as the monthly folders rotate.
Once again, what goes into the folders is entirely up to you. One thing I place in my tickler folder are driving directions and tickets for upcoming events. When you come across things that you want to place in your tickler file, place them into the appropriate month’s folder. Continue to follow the process. That’s the easy part. The challenge comes with getting into the habit of going to the file each day and remembering to place items into the monthly folders. Like any good habit, it takes a while to develop.