Merlin’s weekly podcast with Dan Benjamin. We talk about creativity, independence, and making things you love.
Not 43 folders. Just 3 folders.
mglover | Apr 26 2007
Has anybody experimented with alternate tickler implementations? When I started setting up my system, I didn't have enough folders on hand to create a complete tickler, so I put "get folders" on my @Errands list and I printed out labels for three that I could spare: Tomorrow, Weekly Review, and Next Month. I suspect that this only works for me because I have very few physical date-sensitive items. Most of my stuff like that is more suited to my calendar (Google Calendar, SMS reminders), so most of the stuff in my three tickler folders are little notes to myself on slips of paper. At the end of the day, Tomorrow goes into the inbox. At the beginning of my weekly review (on Fridays), Weekly Review gets dumped into the inbox. It's mostly stuff that gets re-filed into Tomorrow or scheduled for a specific day or handled during the review itself, or sometimes goes back into Weekly Review if it's something that is better off handled the NEXT week. Last review of the month, I dump Next Month along with Weekly Review and it gets the same treatment. I know it's not orthodox, but it's working pretty well for me. Some days I forget to dump the Tomorrow folder, but there's never anything really time-critical there, so it doesn't bite me when I miss it. Best of all I never look up on the 16th to see folders 12-15 eyeing me reproachfully. My one-a-day calendar used to do that and I just had to get rid of it. :) 9 Comments
POSTED IN:
 As others have said, what...Submitted by cornell on April 27, 2007 - 10:56am.
As others have said, what counts is whether it works for you - i.e., gets things off your mind. That said, I think the tickler *functionality* is crucial for just about everyone. That said, if the # of items in your tickler system is low, or if you don't like managing it every day, there are alternatives. If using a tickler file: Create the 43 folders as described elsewhere, or buy an all-in-one "sorter" file, e.g., the Staples EveryDay Letter Size File & Sorter, 1-31 & Jan-Dec (Item 422683) or the "Everyday File" from Globe-Weis. If not, use the "calendar/holding file" technique (as Stephanie Winston calls it) - more in Some common GTD questions, with answers » POSTED IN:
|
|
| EXPLORE 43Folders | THE GOOD STUFF |
