How to track events/occurrences ?

I

ivan308

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I often come across times when it would be good to be able to know when something happened in the past such as when did I last change the AC filter in the house, or when did I last rotate my tires or what date did some other event happen

How does everyone keep track of these things ? Tickler file ? Journal ?

Any thoughts or ideas are welcome
 
If you use a tickler file, you could simply start a sheet of paper that says, "Change furnace filter" put it in the correct month or day and then on that that day when you change the filter you put the date on the first line of the sheet and move the sheet to the correct next place in the tickler folder.

This won't help you if you need to see where you stand on various routine task, though.

So if you want to know when you did something, I'd put it in my reference system in a file folder that says "Furnace Filter" with a sheet of paper that you record the dates you changed the filter on. With the tires example this might mean just dropping in a receipt if you paid someone to rotate the tires.

You could do both, depends on what you need it for.
 
For some things, I keep a record taped to the appliance itself or taped to the wall near
where I use the appliance.

Ask yourself: Where am I likely to be when I want to know that information?
You might want it when you're doing your weekly review or something, or you
might tend to get curious about it when you're actually using the appliance.
 
ivan308;97731 said:
How does everyone keep track of these things ? Tickler file ? Journal ?

Any thoughts or ideas are welcome
Click to expand...
I put most of those in my calendar. I use iCal and have several calendars for personal, farm and other categories of items so I can search or select only one at at time to view if I need to. I also keep a running journal of major projects that got finished and for a few of them I have a note in DEVONThink with the dates. It's a bit of a mishmash but it's working for me.
 
I simply make those recurring or regenerative tasks in my system. If I rotate my tires six months after I rotate them I simply schedule them that way in my system. When I complete and check it off it shows up in my system 6 months later automatically. I have dozens of daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly items like this.
 
Personally I choose some point in the distant future that seems appropriate and put a note in my calendar saying 'New Project - Do X'.
 
I also use a tickler for when I need to do it again. In the tickler item, I may add an actual note of when I did it last. If it's renewing an account (e.g. GTD Connect membership) I'll put a tickler for a week or two before the expiration date and put a note in the tickler of the actual expiration date.
 
I archive and keep all kinds of logs in Evernote. whenever I want to look in the past and see when did something happen - just search and sort by date. it will solve the problem perfectly.

tickler and re-occurring actions that most people mention here are a completely different thing (they don't tell you about the past, you need to log and archive past events somewhere for that)

hope this helps
 
I have a calendar in ical that I use as a record of things that I have done that are important that I might need to know when I did them. For example paying a bill, cancelling something over the phone etc. The record is in my diary and if there are any problems or I just want to confirm with myself that I have done it I can check easily.

I use omnifocus for a record of my actions that I have completed and I can search through that aswell.
 
stickers!

I used the sticker on the heart medicine packet to remind myself to give the dog the next heart medicine tablet the same day the next month. I put the sticker on the calendar, and wrote the date on the box. This way I know I DID indeed give the meds last month.

I also put the sticker from the air filter package on the air filter, write the date on it, and then I can check the air filter itself for the date.
 
Sciral consistency

I use a nifty little tool from http://sciral.com/consistency. It is perfect for tasks that are hard to fit into a conventional calender like:

schedule an appointment with my dentist somewhere between five to seven months from now
Call mom not later than ten days after our last conversation
Go to the gym at least once a week, but no sooner than two days after the last training session

You also can use the tool to easily track how sucessfully you are in implementing a new habit.

The good things: the program is cheap, easy to use and available for windows, mac and iOS devices
The downside: data are not cloud aware, but stored in local text files, so it is hard to keep them in sync across several devices. The new SkyDrive might be a solution for this - still testing.
There has been no significant development of the program for about five years now (except for bug fixes and porting to iOS)

For me it still is quite useful - there is an evaluation version available, if that sounds interesting to you.
 
Me, too.

Almost Done;98496 said:
I used the sticker on the heart medicine packet to remind myself to give the dog the next heart medicine tablet the same day the next month. I put the sticker on the calendar, and wrote the date on the box.
Click to expand...

I use the stickers, too, but I put them in the tickler for the following month. It's much more reliable than setting an alarm on the calendar since I might just shut off the alarm and move on. If it's in the tickler, I HAVE to deal with it sooner rather than later.

Thanks for the reinforcement!

Dena
 
Event Logger

ivan308;97731 said:
I often come across times when it would be good to be able to know when something happened in the past such as when did I last change the AC filter in the house, or when did I last rotate my tires or what date did some other event happen

How does everyone keep track of these things ? Tickler file ? Journal ?

Any thoughts or ideas are welcome
Click to expand...
I use Event Logger HD for Ipad. Its very convenient for what I need.
 
I use a simple text file in Windows using Notepad. I call it LastTime.txt. When opened, it lists all items in alphabetical order which I want to remember the "last time" I changed that item. For example (in alphabetical order):

Air conditioner filter:
4/30/2012
5/17/2011
6/1/2010

Fluorescent Desk bulb:
2/3/2012
8/7/2011
1/17/2011

Tires changed on my Honda:
3/6/2012
9/30/2011
3/30/2011

Well, you get the idea. If you want, you can add notes after the dates, such as last time you changed your tires was at 57,000 miles or whatever.

Chas29
 
I need to know the date of the next change - not the previous!

Chas29;101282 said:
Well, you get the idea.
Click to expand...

No, I don't get the idea. Why do you need to remember (digitally) that you changed air conditioner filter in 2010?

I need to know the date of the next change - not the previous!
 
Sometimes details of past events are useful, like when applying for insurance or buying a house. Having them all in one place makes getting your details right far easier, especially when you are filling out one of these online forms that won't let you save your partially completed information and won't let you look ahead to the next page of questions.
 
3 examples.

cfoley;101294 said:
Sometimes details of past events are useful, like when applying for insurance or buying a house.
Click to expand...

Chas29 gave 3 examples and for me none of them was in this category. At least in Poland.
 
TesTeq;101291 said:
No, I don't get the idea. Why do you need to remember (digitally) that you changed air conditioner filter in 2010?

I need to know the date of the next change - not the previous!
Click to expand...

Because of personalization, I chose to keep ALL past dates, rather than just the most recent past date. You and others are free to keep ONLY the most recent change if that is what you desire.

The next change is sometimes based on the previous change, so you DO need to know the date of the previous change. That is the point of this thread. See OP.

Chas29
 
TesTeq;101291 said:
No, I don't get the idea. Why do you need to remember (digitally) that you changed air conditioner filter in 2010?

I need to know the date of the next change - not the previous!
Click to expand...

There are many things here where you have to provide the date of the last thing as well as knowing when the next one is due.

Health insurance, always requires that you fill out every teatnus shot you have ever had plus all other vaccinations as well as when you are due for next one.You need results of all blood work that has been done in the last 5 years esp if you are taking thyroid or other meds that are tracked by blood results.

When selling any real estate you must know the dates of all service for the last 10 years for major systems like heating, air conditioning etc. plus all regular maintenance. Knowing when you changed the air conditioning filter is important because it's looked at as a way to determine if you are doing proper maint. on your home. This affects the selling price as well as all the various disclosures you have to fill out and a re legally responsible for.

If you have a vehicle that gets recalled for any reason one of the first things they need you to fill out are the dates of all oil changes and other suggested maint. procedures to verify whether you will have topay for the fix or not depending on the recall and the vehicle.

Those are just simple examples but there are many more like that here.
 
US vs. EU bureaucracy.

Oogiem;101308 said:
Health insurance, always requires that you fill out every teatnus shot you have ever had plus all other vaccinations as well as when you are due for next one.You need results of all blood work that has been done in the last 5 years esp if you are taking thyroid or other meds that are tracked by blood results.

When selling any real estate you must know the dates of all service for the last 10 years for major systems like heating, air conditioning etc. plus all regular maintenance. Knowing when you changed the air conditioning filter is important because it's looked at as a way to determine if you are doing proper maint. on your home. This affects the selling price as well as all the various disclosures you have to fill out and a re legally responsible for.

If you have a vehicle that gets recalled for any reason one of the first things they need you to fill out are the dates of all oil changes and other suggested maint. procedures to verify whether you will have topay for the fix or not depending on the recall and the vehicle.
Click to expand...

OMG! I thought that there's less bureaucracy in the US than in the EU (with its rules for a banana shape). Now I am convinced to stay here and enjoy a blissful ignorance about the past dates of meaningless events like a roof repair in my house...
 
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