Cindy
I have always used a Tickler Filing system for bill paying and other things which have dated deadlines. I have 6 such red files which are numbered with the dates as follows: 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, 21-25, and 26-31. I don’t have enough dated deadlines to warrant a file for each date so this has worked very well for years and I plan to continue this system.
When looking around my desk the last few months, I realized that the majority of the piles I have are sitting out because they still need attention. However, they may not need attention not until a month or more in the future or for a specific day later in the week or the following week.
In an attempt to get some more piles of clutter off from my desk and up off from the floor, I took an hour or so today to create two more tickler files. I now have a days of the week tickler file system which is in blue. It is strategically placed at the front of the file closest to my desk since I anticipate being in and out of this file many times each day.
I also created a monthly tickler file which is purple. It is behind the red dated files as I don’t anticipate needing in them very often. At the beginning of each month, I will pull out whatever is in that file and put it in either one of the red files if it has a date due or I’ll put it in one of the blue files so I can schedule to work on in that particular day.
This is not a new system for me. I already have certain days that are heavier work days than others and I make a note on my calendar what needs to be done on those days and I usually clip things to my bulletin board which need to be tended to months down the road. So, the system is already in place, I’ve now just created a better way to organize the system.
