Tickler question

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rick Blake
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Rick Blake

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Just getting started with the GTD system. I'm hoping for some help in how the tickler system works.

As I understand the system, you have 31 daily folders (say, from 4 August to 3 Sept), plus a folder for each month of the rest of the year. So if I want to tickle myself on 27 August, no problem. That I get. But what happens if I want to tickle myself to look at a document on 18 October? I suppose I could put it in the drawer somewhere between Oct and Nov, but it would be much more effective to be able to pick out a specific day.

I am missing something obvious? The system seem to work for everyone else!

Thanks.
 
Stick a post-it note on the item that says "Oct. 18." Then put it in your October file. At the beginning of October, go through the October file and redistribute everything in it to the appropriate numbered folder. (Items without dates are processed like any other Inbox item.)

Katherine
 
This is what I do...

Stick a post-it note on the item that says "Oct. 18." Then put it in your October file. At the beginning of October, go through the October file and redistribute everything in it to the appropriate numbered folder. (Items without dates are processed like any other Inbox item.)
Click to expand...

Only thing I'd add:

I "tickle" a LOT of the things I'm going to mail; bills, cards, notes, letters, etc. On the envelope, where the stamp will go, I write the last possible day I can mail that thing and still get it there under the wire.

Many, many of the items in the tickler are date/day specific, so, like above, just leave a note (post-it or otherwise) on the document/item.
 
I have been doing exactly the same thing Jason does for years--put the date on an envelope where the stamp is going to go.

One thing that has save me loads of time is to maintain a list of everybody I want to send a birthday card to. In December, I go to a discount card store and buy for everybody in the list. While I am watching TV, I address all of the envelopes, put return address stickers on all of the envelopes at one time, and then pencil the date it should go in the mail.

I drop them all in the appropriate tickler files and forget until they start popping up all during the year.
 
I put birthday cards (and other such things that are time-specific) in my tickler file so that I'll come back to them with plenty of time to mail them. If I have a card for a July 5th birthday, I'll put the card into June's folder.

Each card has a sticky note with the person's birthday on it, so I can know how much time I have before I need to post it. In the above example, when processing the June folder, I may move the card from the June file to the file for June 20th.
 
Following up on bills

One thing I've been using my tickler file for is a dispute I've been having on a hospital bill. They overcharged me by $300 dollars. So I have the bill, explanation of benefits from the insurance company and a piece of paper that I take notes on all clipped together. Every 4 or 5 days I call the hospital and pester them about it. I write down notes from the call and the date and then I stick it in the tickler file 5 days from now. When I empty the tickler from that day I see it is time to make that call again. In the past I would have given up on these sorts of grinding disputes (which I'm sure is what they are counting on), but with the tickler file it is easy to keep up with it.
 
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