{"id":1369,"date":"2013-02-20T19:03:08","date_gmt":"2013-02-21T01:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/?p=1369"},"modified":"2013-02-19T23:12:06","modified_gmt":"2013-02-20T05:12:06","slug":"review-tickler-file","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/2013\/02\/review-tickler-file\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Tickler File"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pros:<\/h2>\n
\"Tickler<\/a>

Here’s the Tickler File I made for myself<\/p><\/div>\n

    \n
  • easy to create<\/li>\n
  • never expires \u2013 you can use it over and over again<\/li>\n
  • easy to use \u2013 little decision making involved<\/li>\n
  • no categories<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    <\/h2>\n

    Cons:<\/h2>\n
      \n
    • challenging to find one set \u2013 up for you to jump into using<\/li>\n
    • requires regular routines \u2013 probably new ones which can be challenging<\/li>\n
    • with the full system, might be quite cumbersome<\/li>\n
    • no categories<\/li>\n
    • files could get overfilled<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      <\/h3>\n

      Review:<\/h3>\n

      First, let\u2019s get it out of the way \u2013 the name is just funny \u2013 Tickler File, or maybe it\u2019s the idea of tickle that makes people giggle.\u00a0 That seems to be part of the idea \u2013 these files are meant to tickle your memory so you won\u2019t forget all the various things you are supposed to be doing.\u00a0 And you can\u2019t argue with that as a goal \u2013 to help you track what\u2019s important and stay on top of things.\u00a0 If only it was that simple.<\/p>\n

      Since many people I\u2019ve mentioned this idea to have no idea what it is, let me begin with explaining what it is.\u00a0 Ideally it seems to be a set of files that sits out on your desktop or some other surface for easy access.\u00a0 You need hanging folders for each month of the year and some empty ones for the all the file folders.\u00a0 Then you need file folders numbered 1-31, one for each day of the month generally.\u00a0 Therefore, since this is February 20th<\/sup>, the front folder is February and the first file would be the one with the number 20 on it.\u00a0 Behind the file with 20 is 21-28.\u00a0 Then you\u2019d see the March folder with 1-19 and then 29-31.\u00a0 Next would be the folders for April, May etc.\u00a0 At the end of today, you would move 20 to its spot in March.<\/p>\n

      The idea is that you put your various papers into the date that you need to deal with that specific paper.\u00a0 Therefore, if you have to RSVP by the 28th<\/sup>, you might put the invitation into the 21st<\/sup> file, and make the decision and mail it on that day.\u00a0 Or a bill that you need to pay on the March 5th<\/sup> goes into the 5 file.\u00a0 Or you need to call that person on the 23rd.\u00a0 When something comes up that you don\u2019t need to deal with it in the next month, you drop it just into the correlating month folder and just as that month becomes relevant, you move the papers into their appropriate day.<\/p>\n

      You can probably see that for this system to be useful for anyone, they would need to check that day\u2019s file daily.\u00a0 As with any and every system, you have to use it.\u00a0 And remember to use it.\u00a0 Consistently and regularly use it.\u00a0 This is often easier said than done.\u00a0 It can be challenging anytime you try to implement a new way to handle your tasks \u2013 creating new routines \u2013 and with this system it isn\u2019t necessarily obvious.\u00a0 I think this system also requires that you have enough paper coming in that can get delegated to various days.<\/p>\n

      It\u2019s easy to create and set up, including labeling \u2013 you need 31 file folders, a minimum of 16 hanging folders (one for each month and as many extra to hold all the file folders), and a container to hold all of them.\u00a0 It will always work \u2013 since you simply move the old to the back.\u00a0 The only decision that you need to make is when you will handle that thing you are putting into the system.\u00a0 Of course, then when that day arrives, you do need to make decisions.\u00a0 This system works for any papers \u2013 regardless of what action you might need to eventually take.<\/p>\n

      I got a lot of amusement out of the expressions I encountered when I would ask clerks if they happened to carry a tickler file system.\u00a0 So, it\u2019s not something that is readily available in local stores, even the national chains.\u00a0 There appears to be a number that you can purchase online though I would be wary of any accordion styles (though I\u2019m not a personal fan of accordion files in general).<\/p>\n

      For me, I simply don\u2019t have enough paper to warrant files for each day of the month.\u00a0 Though it occurred to me that it could be simplified by eliminating the daily and instead doing a weekly file folder \u2013 either 1-7, 8-14, 15-21, etc. or week 1, week 2, etc.<\/p>\n

      One of the most common struggles people face is trying to do too much on a given day (or even week).\u00a0 It would be easy to drop papers into this system and not realize until the day of that there\u2019s too much to realistically accomplish.<\/p>\n

      It also doesn\u2019t break things down in any other way which means that I might end up working more that day when I had actually thought I would be home to make phone calls and check things on the computer.\u00a0 It\u2019s not often, although sometimes I want to get through all of one type of task \u2013 non-time sensitive phone calls is my prime example \u2013 and with this system they\u2019d likely be divided up among various days since I limit the number of tasks for a given day.<\/p>\n

      Obviously this system has some great features and can be a good solution for some people.\u00a0 Yet, it also would fail miserably for other people.\u00a0 This might be an ideal example of how we each need to find what works for our situation and personality.\u00a0 As well as an example of how you might need to tweak it to make it work better for you.\u00a0 Nothing else really matters if it works for you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      The tickler file is meant to tickle your memory with the things that need your attention. It can be quite useful, though it might just as easily become cumbersome \u2013 it all depends on you and your needs. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[10,8,18,5,7,22,15,4],"class_list":["post-1369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-behavior","tag-discipline","tag-goals","tag-household","tag-procrastination","tag-productivity","tag-resources","tag-routines"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7p82c-m5","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1369"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1380,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1369\/revisions\/1380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}