Where do I put "Review Credit Card bill?" (not on calendar)

[Yuting]

The credit card bills are automatically paid by bank transfers every month so I don't need to do anything.
But I need to review the bills for every card, in case there are errors or fraudulent transactions -- though there haven't been any in the past.
A recurring task or calendar event has not worked for me because sometimes I forget how long ago I've checked the statements (was it last month or two months ago? oh heck, I'll put off for another month.)

How would one set up a task or reminder in the GTD system to catch up with the bill review?

One way I could think of is to create one task per month, in a list. Then set the due date to the date of the bill:
[ ] Review Card A Jan 2023 Statement (due 17-Jan-2023)
[ ] Review Card A Feb 2023 Statement (due 17-Feb-2023)
[ ] Review Card A Mar 2023 Statement (due 17-Mar-2023)
.
.
.

Then put all these in a separate folder (I use Todoist with a Project called "Tickler File".)

Or is there a more clever / neater GTD-way of doing this?

 

[René Lie]

I have a few recurring tasks with monthly due dates in my system in Asana, which works well for me. This way a task is only put into the system once, but it re-populates upon completion!

 

[cfoley]

I would create a checklist for the year and keep it in my reference files.

The problem with scheduling all the tasks up front is what happens when your circumstances change.

 

[gtdstudente]

I would create a checklist for the year and keep it in my reference files.

The problem with scheduling all the tasks up front is what happens when your circumstances change.

Agreed

Meanwhile, knowing what might need some adjusting is assuring and, as such, half the battle?

 

[Yuting]

So I figured I should turn on email statement for every bill (currently some come as text messages some by post) — then they will arrive in my inbox which gets processed daily. There is no need to make a recurring task or external trigger list, the email itself is turned into an action.

Appreciate all the input guys. Looks like I was trying to turn a simple task into an over complicated process.

 

[gtdstudente]

So I figured I should turn on email statement for every bill (currently some come as text messages some by post) — then they will arrive in my inbox which gets processed daily. There is no need to make a recurring task or external trigger list, the email itself is turned into an action.

Appreciate all the input guys. Looks like I was trying to turn a simple task into an over complicated process.

@Yuting,

Nice . . . very GTD elegant . . . "the email itself is turned into an action."

A great example of a trusted GTD technique for having something show-up where you need/want it to show-up without needing to add to List(s)/Review

 

[Yuting]

@Yuting,

Nice . . . very GTD elegant . . . "the email itself is turned into an action."

A great example of a trusted GTD technique for having something show-up where you need/want it to show-up without needing to add to List(s)/Review

It's another "aha!" moment for me.

 

[nlemon3434]

So I figured I should turn on email statement for every bill (currently some come as text messages some by post) — then they will arrive in my inbox which gets processed daily. There is no need to make a recurring task or external trigger list, the email itself is turned into an action.

Appreciate all the input guys. Looks like I was trying to turn a simple task into an over complicated process.

Hey, for me the first step in implementing GTD was to get everything on a list somewhere, whether or not that was an elegant solution or not. Once you're confident you have captured everything that owns a piece of you, then the goal is to streamline and simplify anything you can. Once I did I realized I have too many projects and Areas of responsibility and need to eliminate some things. But I couldn't see that clearly until I implemented my system. I was just always confused about why I couldn't focus and couldn't stay on top of everything. Once I saw my whole life broken down into lists and files I was like, "Well that's a stupid life. Who wants all that? Not me."