43 Folders Yes or No

SalesDave

Registered
I am working on setting up GTD for myself and have the following question for the more experienced among us:

Do you find that physically creating a 43 folder filing system for reminders a valuable use of time? Or do you find using an add-on to Outlook such as GTD or Jello Dashboard negates the need for the 43 folder system?

The reason for this question is to help me determine the best use of my resources when implementing GTD. Thanks in advance.

Dave
 

Scott_TX

Registered
Dave, one of the big advantages of using 43 folders for me is putting items in it that I want to see at a later date. This includes inspirational items to read, actual forms that I need to fill out at a later date. I also put 3x5 cards in my folders to remind me to do things like change the air filter on the first of the month. Some of these things can be done in Outlook, but others are easier to do with real folders.
 

kewms

Registered
Well, I "created" my 43 folders by buying 31-slot and 12-slot accordion files. So the investment of time was pretty trivial.

Usually the things that go in mine are either physical items -- like tickets -- or things that I haven't processed to the point of being ready to put into a more formal system. I no longer use Outlook, but even when I did I still found the tickler file useful.

Katherine
 

unstuffed

Registered
My 'creation' of the 43 folders took as long as it takes to write the numbers 1 - 31 and the months January - December on some folders. Voila, the tickler file.

And yes, it is useful, monumentally so. I stick bills and event notices in it, notes about stuff I don't have time for right now but want to get to soon, and a whole bunch of stuff.

Adding things to the tickler file takes about half a second, which is way less than it would take to type up the details and add it to an electronic record. I'm a big exponent of doing as little as possible.
 

tominperu

Registered
Everyone's different - it didn't work for me.

As others have suggested the investment in time in creating a tickler file is pretty minimal. I created and tried to use one before but I found that most days when I looked in it (at the beginning of the day) there was nothing inside. This meant I started to not bother looking into it and so the system broke down.

I find putting postdated actions in Outlook just as easy and this system hasn't broken down for me. The action just appears in Outlook which I look at every day without fail. If there is physical object associated with the action then have a sort of "general actions support material tray" (I've just invented the name!), which I put the object in and I refer to this object in the postdated action. It seems to work fine although I admit if if the tray started piling up with stuff it would be a problem.

You just need to try different systems and find out what works for your particular workflow and personal style.
 

notmuch

Registered
My experience mirrors tominperu's. I did the 43 folders for about 6 months, and then abandoned it.

I suspect if you are using a predominately paper system, and/or handle a lot of hard copy material, then the folders make more sense. I'm mostly digital so any recurring reminders are already automated. I also developed some bad habits where items just kept getting re-filed farther and farther back... rather than just getting them into my system (Active Support, Read & Review or S/M) or into the trash can. The final nail was that I travel a lot, often on short notice, so the fewer the files to check (or pack) the better. YMMV.
 

jknecht

Registered
My system is almost entirely digital (Outlook and PocketPC), but I do find the 43 folders to be helpful for those odd times that I need a physical piece of paper on a given day. It's also useful for parking things I just don't want to think about yet. Another thing I use it for is to park tasks that have a start date, but not a specific due date.

Most days, my daily tickler folder is empty. This used to create a bit of apathy on my part toward checking the file on a daily basis. There were whole weeks that would go by without me checking those folders, until I started sticking my keys in the tickler file each night before I go to bed. Now I'm virtually forced to check the tickler each and every day.
 

Eutychus

Registered
kewms;48115 said:
Well, I "created" my 43 folders by buying 31-slot and 12-slot accordion files. So the investment of time was pretty trivial.

Usually the things that go in mine are either physical items -- like tickets -- or things that I haven't processed to the point of being ready to put into a more formal system. I no longer use Outlook, but even when I did I still found the tickler file useful.

Katherine

Why did you give up Outlook??
 

tominperu

Registered
jknecht;48133 said:
...There were whole weeks that would go by without me checking those folders, until I started sticking my keys in the tickler file each night before I go to bed. Now I'm virtually forced to check the tickler each and every day.

Great tip!!
 

Edith

Registered
I too am mainly digital, but find the Tickler a good place to keep paper that refers to some of my lists. I have a tickler at home and at work and i think I probbaly make more use of the home one that the work one. The discipline is then checking it.
 
My experience is similar to that of tominperu and notmuch. My boss gave me those two accordion files about 17 years ago, but I gave it up after several months, because I couldn't find anything in it when I needed it. Decided to write the items in my calendar and keep the papers in project binders.

After starting with GTD several years ago, I re-activated those two accordion files four times, but finally gave up on them. Now I keep the papers in binders and folders and write the items in my diary to keep my calendar free from clutter.

On the other hand I know assistants who use the accordion files and it works great for them. They have made those two accordion files a central part of their systems and have the habit of maintaining it painstakingly.

Rainer
 

Cpu_Modern

Registered
Rainer Burmeister;48145 said:
because I couldn't find anything in it when I needed it.

This is IMHO the one unsolvable downside of the 43 folders: when you need a document that is somewhere in the tickler... How to find it?

However, I can imagine a tickler-file as the central tool for nearly the whole system. For instance imagine you work in a workshop and all paperwork you need to do are some technical forms and bills. Then you just shuffle the paperload in the tickler around. More organization would not be needed.
 

pixlz

Registered
43 Folders Yes or No

I use both.

I have 12 hanging files labled Jan - Dec and 31 tabs (from staples) which go into the current month. I use when there is a physical item such as tickets or printed travel and accommodation details which I prepare during the previous review (I travel frequently).

In my Mindmanager action list I have a section which has the same sections as branches and that is where I make a note of things such as flea treat the dog, the sign up window for my next distance learning course and also when I want to kick start one of my non-current projects (someday/maybe).

Sharon
 

kewms

Registered
Cpu_Modern;48147 said:
This is IMHO the one unsolvable downside of the 43 folders: when you need a document that is somewhere in the tickler... How to find it?

If you were going to need it, why did you put it in the tickler in the first place? I only use my tickler for things I'm unlikely to need before the tickler date.

Katherine
 

CJSullivan

Registered
Cpu_Modern;48147 said:
This is IMHO the one unsolvable downside of the 43 folders: when you need a document that is somewhere in the tickler... How to find it?

It takes me literally a minute to look through each of my 43 folders (which I've only had to do occasionally). The other option is to make a note in your electronic system when you trace a doc you may need before that date. I just note "T0407," telling me I traced the thing to April 7th (usually in a note attached to the project, or whatever...I use Palm desktop for my GTD).
 

mikeobrien58

Registered
I resisted using 43 folders for a long time -- it seemed so secretarial somehow -- but I finally did it, and found it to be a great stress-reduction tool for dealing with overwhelming stacks of paper -- mail, bills, etc. that need processing but I don't have time to process it all right now.

I pick up a piece of mail -- let's say a bill -- open it up, decide when it's due, and stick it in the folder for a week prior. Now I don't have to think about it or look at it anymore, and it's out of my inbox. What's left to process is only the stuff that really does have to be done right now.

I'll confess that I cheated a little and made one folder labelled "1, 2, 3, 4, 5" rather than 5 separate folders. That's precise enough for my purposes.

Try it -- it's a low-risk investment. If it doesn't work for you, you've wasted a few manila folders, that's all -- just re-label them.
 

martefie

Registered
I'm on maternity leave now, and before I left work I put all sort of stuff in my tickler that I knew my substitute would need, like reminders of staff meetings to attend and clients to follow up within the next year.

She loves the tickler, and has put reminders in it for when I'm back in August. She has actullay set up one at home too. As far as I know, she has never heard of GTD.

martefie
 

madalu

Registered
My problem with the 43 folders was that they added complexity to the system. The tickler was one more thing to check and maintain. Wouldn't it be just as easy to make a note on the calendar--"pay electric bill"--and to file the document in a "bills to pay" folder? You're already maintaining a calendar and alphabetical filing system. So why introduce a third level of complexity?

I would even suggest that the method above allows for a little bit more control over material. Let's say, for instance, that it's the middle of the month and I want to get a sense of where I'll be at financially at the end of the month. It's a lot easier to pull out a "bills to pay" folder and review all my bills at once than it is to rifle through a tickler file.

Likewise, let's say that I have a document I need to bring to a meeting on 4/28. If I file it in the tickler, what happens if someone calls me about the document or asks me to photocopy for them ASAP? Granted, it's probably easy enough to go to my calendar and remember that I had filed the document away in the tickler for a particular meeting. But wouldn't it be just as easy to file it in an alphabetical system and then to jot down a reminder on my calendar to bring file/document X to the meeting?

The tickler is particularly problematic if you and your partner/spouse both need access to your bills for review, payment, etc. In that case, your best bet is to have a common place where you keep your bills to pay and to put reminders on your calendar.

Finally, I personally found the tickler made it way too easy to defer making decisions on stuff--especially random junk like magazine offers, events, etc. I would pull this stuff out of the tickler, look at it, and then put it a week later. Weirdly enough, the act of deferring this stuff was actually somewhat stressful--it made me feel like I was procrastinating on stuff that wasn't really important. Without the tickler, I'm forced to make a decision: either throw it away, create an action/project, or put the item on an incubate list. Making this decision reduces the stress. For me, at least, the tickler actually encouraged the habits of postponing decisions that GTD is supposed to overcome. I can't give myself the luxury of that out.

That said, a lot of the comments here have made a very strong case for the tickler.
 

Howard

Registered
I've had a similar experience to Tom's but I don't want to get rid of the 43 files (hate the word "tickler"). I make sure I put it in an unavoidable position on my desk when I know I've got something coming up. That way I always check it and keep trusting it.
 
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