Tickler file as described by DA

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Another problem I had was that I needed a certain paper which I had 'tickled' and couldn't remember where I had put it. Someone on another forum suggested creating an index of what you put in the tickler. There's no way that I have the time, energy or inclination to create an index.

Comments?

Mavis
 
Interestingly, I'm the person who first posted this thread nine months ago. I've since set up my tickler file (physical folders, exactly as described in the book) and I love it. Now, I can't imagine being without it. There isn't a ton of stuff in there, but for what is in there, I don't think anything else would work as well.

mreynolds said:
I really want the tickler to work for me. Having work in a law firm I know what a life-support system it can really be. Any tricks for becoming routine in checking it??
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I set up a morning routine for the beginning of my workday. This includes checking and processing both work and personal emails, pulling items from my tickler file into my inbox, and processing my physical inbox. It took a while (a post-it note is a great idea) but now it's habit.

mreynolds said:
Another problem I had was that I needed a certain paper which I had 'tickled' and couldn't remember where I had put it. Someone on another forum suggested creating an index of what you put in the tickler. There's no way that I have the time, energy or inclination to create an index.
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Me either.

I think there are a couple approaches here. In theory, this situation shouldn't really show up often. If you place something in your tickler, it should be because you don't need it until then, right? Or, if you do, the place you put it should be so logical that it's easy to find.

In practice, though, I can see that's not always the case. What I've done for similar items is to place the actual paper into a file folder with my reference files, and put a note referring to it into my tickler file. That way, if I need to find it, I can. There's really only a few things to which this applies, though.

A side note - I'm very careful not to put Someday/Maybe items into my tickler file. The only things that go in there are things that I quite literally do not want to even think about it until X date.

iksrobyzrp said:
As a matter of pure theory, where do people stand on placing unprocessed items in the tickler file? I.e., "Process later, on this date, not now." Isn't this the equivalent of returning the item to "In"? If too much processing is deferred, then the tickler becomes a multi-layered in-box.
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I don't place unprocessed items in my tickler file. Everything that is in there are things that have been processed, but not necessarily organized. For example, I have a note for a project that recurs every three months. When I pull it out of my tickler file, it's already "processed" - it just needs to be "organized" onto my Projects list. Then I either elaborate with Next Actions, or leave that task until the next Weekly Review.

Hope that makes sense!
 
H-m-m-m: "Tickler file is a multi-layered in-box". Actually, I hadn't thought of it in that manner but I like that concept, because that's what I'm actually doing in many cases.

For me, the tickler file is not a place that I put something and then when I pull it out I MUST act on it. I'm perfectly comfortable with looking at the item, deciding to re-defer it, and then making a good choice on when to have it come back around. The key is making a GOOD CHOICE. All I care about is making sure something doesn't lie under a stack of papers until it's too late to act on it or until a crisis is sapping my mental energy.

As for finding things in the tickler file, there are some things (especially checklists) I photocopy and put the master in the tickler file and the copy in the client support folder. If I make a mission-critical note on the master copy and then schedule & advance it in the tickler file, I will also photocopy it again and put the new copy in the support folder, throwing away the previous photocopy. (Since the new copy has the next tickled date on it, I can locate the master by looking in the client folder).

I also have some checklists which are more-or-less stand-alone documents and they will cycle through the tickler file several times as I make a follow-up call and then schedule another call at some point in the future (generally within 90 days). For these, I have chosen to schedule all follow-up calls on Tuesdays unless there's some outside influence preventing that. So if something pops up that I need to locate that's out in the future but I'm not sure where, I go through my next 4 Tuesday ticklers first, then I look at the Monthly folders. I only have to scan through 4-6 folders and 90% of the time I find it right away.
 
I have found the tickler file to be an extremely useful tool, but, as others have said, you need to work with it consistently. To do so, you need to set aside the time to review it, which is generally minimal, and make it a daily habit. This can be as simple as taking the contents of the tickler file for the day and dropping them in the in-box. I made it a habit to check my tickler folder first thing in the morning along with my e-mail. Until it becomes a habit, which for most people is only a matter of three to four weeks, you may need a reminder. The reminder could be a floating event on your calendar, an e-mail that you send yourself or a post-it stuck on your datebook. To make the system truly useful, it's better not to use it as a dumping ground for things that can be better organized in your filing system and on your next action lists. If your tickler file is really thick and you can't find things when you may need them at an earlier time, my guess is that you may be putting too many things in there. I sometimes put items in the tickler file that have been minimally processed (i.e., I've processed them enough to know they do not require my immediate attention). If the next action for the item is further processing, it is perfectly okay to put it in the tickler file. For example, if I receive a flyer for a seminar taking place next month and I'm undecided whether to go or not, I just throw it in the tickler file (with enough notice so that I will still have time to register if I decide to go). In sum, to make it work for you, try the following:

1- Set aside time (for me this is only a few seconds per day)
2 - Make it a habit
3- Use it for things that don't fit better elsewhere in your system.

Once you have made it a habit, you will probably feel more comfortable expanding its use.
 
There was a craze for time capsules a couple of decades ago. These were containers that people could fill with present-day artifacts and bury them to be opened in perhaps 100 years so their great-grandchildren could marvel at newspaper clippings and Barbie dolls and other ephemera from the day.

The cool thing about a time capsule is that when you fill one, you are making a connection with the future. And, presumably, when the time capsule is opened, others will have a connection with the past. It's odd to think about sending a message through time this way, to people who you will never even meet, but who will, in some ways, know more about you and your age than you ever will.

A tickler file is a time capsule too. Just a veeeeeery short-term one. :) I'm often slightly touched when I pull out something out of my tickler. It's as though Me-Of-The-Past was thinking about and taking care of Me-Right-Now. "Here. You'll need this coupon for an oil change," Me-Of-Six-Months-Ago says to Me-Right-Now, and hands it to me just when I need it. I often feel the impluse to say thanks, but the reverse tickler file hasn't been invented yet, so I can't.
 
Nice time capsule analogy.

For the "thank you", you could buy a couple of small mirrors and put them in your tickler file at random.
 
I set up a tickler file, but I don't use it very much. If I have a certain document that I will need to reference on a certain day, I'm much more likely to put the doc in a file folder and then put a reminder in my calendar. I really haven't found many uses for it that aren't better handled through use of the calendar and timed reminders on Outlook. Anyone else?
 
I believe the effectiveness of the tickler file is directly proportional to how "paper based" your overall system is. I use a Palm and email extensively, but much of what I do must be paper based, and I find the tickler file to be among the five or six most important habits I've developed since implementing GTD. I rate it right up there with the 2-minute rule and emplty in-boxes) Regular, consistent use of the tickler file has significantly increased my productivity and my trust that my system doesn't have any leaks.
 
spectecGTD said:
Regular, consistent use of the tickler file has significantly increased my productivity and my trust that my system doesn't have any leaks.
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Although the traditional tickler file is typically a set of folders into which you insert paper-based items, I encourage everyone to think of creative approaches to tickling. For example, MD's method of setting up a file and putting a reminder on the calendar is really just an alternative way of tickling the item. I use the traditional files for some of the paper items that seem to have no other home and are not worth making a new file, but I also use the due date function of the Palm task list to tickle items to my attention. The advantage here is that I can search for an item and move things around more easily than someone using exclusively a paper-based system. I prefer it over MD's method of putting things on the calendar, because I often move my tickler items forward, but my calendar items are more hard and fast. But the important part, whichever method that you use, is that the item is tickled to your attention at the appropriate time, you can trust your system, and you can put items away so that you don't have huge piles of stuff in your face. I heartily concur with Spect that the regular use of a tickler system can significantly increase productivity and ensure trust that the system has no leaks. If you are not tickling, you are probaby not getting things done.... :lol:
 
Email Tickler for Entourage

The only trouble I have with GTD is that there is NO END to how you can implement it! ...As evidenced here by the shear volume of post (just on how to implement a Tickler File)! As a result, I have found myself bouncing from solution to solution, constantly in pursuit of the most efficient implementation (maybe I'm just neurotic that way). Anyway, my latest kick is with MS Entourage, which seems to be lasting pretty well.

If no one minds... one more implementation, you are welcome to try out a set of AppleScripts I wrote that creates an Email Tickler for Entourage. You can read about this at:

www.earth2adam.com/entourage-gtd-tickling-your-email/

Hopefully this helps (more than it frustrates),
-Adam
 
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