Is a tickler file really needed? Do you use one?

[shane_k]

hey everyone.

So I setup my tickler file about 1 year ago.

However, I don't use it consistenly at all. i go in spurts, where I will use it for 1 month, then stop for 3, then use it for 2 weeks, then stop, etc.

I don't like to put things in there any longer, because I know I will probably just forget about them. So I know I don't trust it.

Do you guys use a tickler file? Do you think we should have one, or should I just get rid of it?

What I was thinking of doing was if I say a flyer advertising a sale on TV's, and it was going to happen on a specific saturday, I would just put a notice of that in the "all day section" of the calendar on my iphone. Would that work?

But then where do I put the actual physical flyer?

What do you do to make sure your tickler system is running smoothly?

[mickmel]

I don't check mine daily, but it's still a great place to store date-related papers (such as the flyer you mentioned). I also put birthday/wedding invites in there, hotel confirmations, concert tickets, etc. It's not so much to remind me of what I need to do, and therefore I don't check it consistently, but I never misplace those kinds of items anymore.

[kelstarrising]

A Tickler system doesn't have to mean a 43 folder monthly/daily folder system. I use the Tickler concept, but with my Calendar and Waiting For folders.

[SiobhanBR]

I find it invaluable at work. The first thing I do every morning is empty the tickler out for that day and all days up to the next time I'll be in the office. The kinds of things in there:
- printed out agendas for meetings/conference calls
- directions to meetings/airplane tickets etc.
- information on upcoming meetings/seminars I have not yet decided whether or not to attend
- information I like reviewing regularly (e.g., I may put it in the monthly folder for two months from now and when I get to that month I decide when/if I want to review it again)
- occassionally, everything that was on my desk the evening before (when I have to run to catch the bus, I still want a clear desk the next morning)

As others have said, you could keep all of this electronically and/or have reminders in your calendar while storing this information in your reference files, but the tickler works really well for me.

I tried it at home but I don't regularly look at it there, so I've given it up. I don't seem to have enough paper at home to make it worth developing the routine. So I will put every item on my calendar or a next action list - this way I know I'm not missing something.

[SherGTD]

I don't have to "tickle" a lot of paper, so I place a reminder note on my calendar with "cs" at the end of my reminder. "cs" refers to my Calendar Support folder, in which I place papers related to items on my calendar.

An example: I'm registered for a training class in October. I have the class noted on my calendar as a day-specific item: October 6th all day event - "XYZ Training-cs". I have the hard copy agenda and map for the training class in my Calendar Support folder, which I keep on my desk with my Action Support and Waiting For folders. When I scan my upcoming calendar during my Weekly Review, I'll note that the training is coming up in the next week and can quickly verify that I already have the paperwork I need for the class.

This might be a way for you to benefit from a tickler without investing in 43 folders and a daily habit to rely upon.

Good luck,
Sheryl

[CJSullivan]

I find the actual, physical, tickler file invaluable. Sometimes I'm not very good at installing habits, but this one is INGRAINED. When I get to work, I boot up my computer, process my email in box (another habit I've got down), and then I would feel TOTALLY weird if I didn't swivel my chair around, open up the file drawer, and pull out that day's tickler file contents!

Often times it just contains something I've put in for inspiration or something funny, but I deal with a lot of travel arrangements, conference registrations, etc., and being able to just plunk something in a folder and forget it until the day I need it is one of the simplest and most elegant parts of my GTD system!

[Oogiem]

I don't like to put things in there any longer, because I know I will probably just forget about them. So I know I don't trust it.

Do you guys use a tickler file? Do you think we should have one, or should I just get rid of it?

What I was thinking of doing was if I say a flyer advertising a sale on TV's, and it was going to happen on a specific saturday, I would just put a notice of that in the "all day section" of the calendar on my iphone. Would that work?

But then where do I put the actual physical flyer?

What do you do to make sure your tickler system is running smoothly?

I do use a tickler file and I also had some issues with trusting it initially. My tactic was to add a note that came up on my morning checklist to check tickler file until it was a habit. After reading the power of habits book I realized that I was adding a step to an established routine so it wasn't that hard to do.

If you have a lot of stuff in your tickler file if it was working then stick with a full fledged version with a folder for each day and one for each month. If you don't have as much then you might go with just a monthly version and if you really have almost no paper stuff then perhaps just a single Tickler Folder is enough and you sort through it when you need a paper.

The phone reminder to at least check the tickler file is probably a good one until the habit is established.

[cojo]

Honestly? No. I've tried tickler files (both paper and virtual) and what ends up happening is I rarely put things in them, then forget to check. What I do now is put date-specific events on the calendar and, if necessary, make a note about where the supporting materials are on the calendar reminder. I have so few paper items, if I have something paper like tickets or a wedding invite, I put them under a magnet on the fridge. Otherwise, I scan it and it goes into a digital file.

So it's sort of a simulated tickler, but I don't have an official tickler - just another thing to check.

[Candid]

I use followupthen.com as my tickler file. It is a pretty basic and easy to use service. You send things to the site with a date like mon@followupthen.com or nov5@followupthen.com. On that date you get sent an email back with whatever you sent to the website.

Since about 90% of my tickler stuff comes from email this is a great way for me to have things that have been sent to me appear in my email box on the day I need to act on them.

[ctklai]

Hi shane_k,

I'm going to use the TV flyer case you brought up in your original post as an example of how effective the tickler file can be.

Your situation:

- a sale I might want to check out on Saturday September 15th, 2012.
- a physical piece of flyer
- I'm not sure if I want to go and buy a new TV, but I would like to know on Saturday that there is a sale.

Your challenge:

- where do I put the physical piece of flyer? I want to be reminded there will be a sale on Saturday.
- I'll just put it on my calendar since it's a day-specific information (perfectly GTD compliant as long as the edges on your calendar are clear between inaction and action items)
- but I might lose my piece of flyer!

Solution:
- have your piece of flyer be the reminder
- physical tickler file OR a digital tickler file

Strategy:

Physical tickler file:

- file the actual physical piece of flyer in the folder marked for September 15th, 2012 (or even September 13th to give yourself 2 days heads up)
- Principle: anything you take out of the tickler file MUST go in your INBOX to be processed that day
- you can use the tickler file as your not-to-decide system
- you must go to your tickler file everyday to see if you 'sent anything from the past'

"It’s OK to decide not to decide—as long as you have a decide-not-to-decide system."
- D.Allen

Digital tickler file:


- setup a digital tickler (either offline or cloud)

It is the same setup D.A. wrote about in his book. The advantage of having a digital tickler file is that I can insert items into specific dates later in the YEAR, not just the month (30 day limit)

- take digital pics of the flyer and store it in a digital tickler file
- use your tickler file everyday, and dump into inbox for processing
- for instance, you see here that I have 4 items to dump into my inbox for processing (I haven't decided if I want to take action with any of the 4 items yet, but it's off my mind since I trust it will appear in my inbox on that day) on September 10th

Ignore my inbox, I just did a huge digital core dump and I'm still working through it :P

Hope this helped,
Calvin