Creative Tickler System Solutions
A tickler system is a must if you have piles of paper in your life. And the piles probably exist because there is some sort of action attached to the paper--phone calls, signatures, reading, etc. But where should you put it until you need it? Back in the pile? Not anymore!
Creating an tickler system will give your paper a home and you will be able to find it when you want it. This will also partner with your to-do list helping you feel more confident and organized.
You are about to read the best organizing solutions for organizing your piles of paper, monthly bills, and your to do list all at the same time! Pretty exciting isn't it? Be sure to take time to read through all tickler system solutions because you may be able to combine a few to really work for you at home and at work.
Have you heard of the Only Handle It Once (OHIO) theory? Well, I personally think it's bogus. It is unrealistic and sets people up for failure. I would rather you begin to think in terms of "Making a decision about your paper."
We will explore the following Tickler System Solutions.
- Everyday Tickler System
- Group-It Tickler System
- Action Book Ticker System
Everyday Tickler System
The Everyday Tickler System is the most commonly used and requires 43 hanging folders with tabs labeled 1-31 and January to December. This is a great solution if you have time sensitive items. It will also require a filing drawer or a portable filing box.
How the Everyday Tickler System works
Make sure this system is located near your workstation. For an example of how this works, let’s say you received an invitation in April for a networking event scheduled for June 15. First, place it in the June hanging folder. When June comes around, you will sort through each item you placed in that month’s hanging folder into the appropriate day hanging folder. The invitation will be placed on the 15th which is now available when you actually need it. No hunting necessary.
As a monthly bill organizer, you can decide to pay bills on separate days or create a "To Pay" manila folder inside the hanging folder to catch the bills as they come in the mail. If a bill needs to be paid on the 17th, place it in this file or a few days before.
Other great uses for this tickler system are birthday cards, client correspondence, family events, directions, tickets to the theatre, follow-up on internet orders, decisions to be made, plus so much more! Having a partnership between your planner and this tickler system will make the piles go away and make you more productive.
Why the Everyday Tickler System works
This system is amazing if you generate a lot of action paper of all sizes in your life—either personally or professionally. It allows you be pro-active about what needs to be done which can reduce feelings of being overwhelmed. Having the daily and monthly hanging files provide the flexibility to spread them throughout the month and only see the paper when you need to act on it. Items that need to be completed once a month or even twice a month will no longer go unnoticed!
Challenges for the Everyday Tickler System
There are several things to take into consideration with the Everyday Tickler System.
- This requires its own filing drawer, and it works best near your workstation. This can be in a desk or in a portable box that can be set on a chair or floor while you work in your space.
- Create the DAILY habit of checking the files. If you miss days, you may miss the actions. This is another reason it is crucial to have a nice partnership with your to-do list. When your to-do list reflects what is in your tickler file on the specific days, you will increase your successes! Personally this system worked wonders for me when I worked at Girls Inc. and Girl Scouts. I was generating a lot of action paper so I was constantly in and out of my tickler file. However, it never worked that great for me at home because we don’t generate enough paper to create the habit needed. Even with my home business, I don’t generate enough to require this sort of system.
- Beware of just moving what you don’t get done into the very next day’s file. Be mindful at the end of the day and make decisions about your paper, placing the action on a day that is more appropriate.
How to make the Everyday Tickler System
First, decide where you want your tickler file. Does it need to be out in the open so you are more likely to get your hands in it? If so, you may want to use a crate similar to the one in the picture. If you can’t stand to have things out in the open, you may want to make room for it in a drawer in or near your work station, or use the crate idea and place it in a closet or under the desk/table until you need it. This may be part of the experimenting that is required to see what works best for you and your family.
As mentioned before, it requires 43 hanging folders. You can either use what you already have or purchase two boxes of 50 at your local office supply store. If you try this and for whatever reason you don’t like it, the hanging folders can be used for your reference files.
Using the tabs that come with the hanging folders, create 1-31 and stagger them as shown in the picture. Give yourself permission to have a little fun with this since you are going to use it EVERYDAY!!! Use color, stickers, or whatever else speaks to you. Next make the final 12 tabs with each month of the year. The month tabs can be placed either behind or in front of the days. Mix them around and see what you like best.
If you don't want to make it yourself, you can use the pre-made labels used in the FreedomFiler. This also includes labels for other paper, guidelines on how long to keep paper, plus so much more. Oh, and the best part is that it is self-purging! Whoohoo!
Group-It Tickler System
This system groups paper based on the type of action required. For example, Calls, Computer Entry, Discuss, File, Pay, Photo Copy, Read, Sign, Special Event, Write, Upcoming Meetings/Trips, Errands. You can create a file folder for each one or use a stacking tray for each action area in your life. Another way to look at grouping the action is based on WHERE the action needs to take place. Examples are: Computer, Online, Home, Office, Errands, Phone, Travel, Waiting for, soccer practice, etc.
Why the Group-It Tickler System works
By grouping the actions, you can potentially save time by making all your phone calls in one block of time. It also allows you to grab a stack of actions to take with you to act on before a meeting, or even while you travel.
The idea behind WHERE the action needs to happen makes the decision making process even easier. If you have to order a product online, you know you can’t do that while you are on an airplane. So you would focus on the activities that can be done while you are flying—such as reading or writing letters. It truly takes the guess work out of what is on your to-do list and makes your actions portable.
Challenges to the Group-It Tickler System
- Date sensitive items can get lost, UNLESS you have it listed in your to-do list for the day you want to act on it. This partnership is so important!!!
- It makes you think differently about your paper. You have to identify what the next action is so you know where it belongs in your system.
- It requires you to make a decision about the paper. (Not such a bad thing!)
- There is potential of letting the folders get thick.
- It may be tempting to have a pending or miscellaneous file. STAY AWAY from these because it gets you back into your original challenge ...mixed up piles and paper clutter!
How to make the Group-It Tickler System.
The Group-It Tickler System can take several different forms. Four examples are shown here.
STEP 1: Get one of your current stacks and go piece by piece. Ask yourself "What is the next action required for this piece of paper?" Write it on the corner or on a post it note. Group all like actions together. Now you have an idea of how many actions your paper requires of you and which system below would work best.
- SORTING SOLUTIONS: If you need to see things out in the open, you can use trays for each action. Make sure you label them so there is NO question where the paper goes.
- EXPANDING FOLDERS: This allows you to be more portable. Label each tab with an action. You can purchase them with different numbers of tabs, so it is important that you do STEP 1 to know how many tabs you need. There are tons of styles and colors to match your personality. They can be found at your local office supply store or in office supply sections in other stores, such as Target.
- COMBINATION: I combined the Everyday and the Group-It tickler systems when I worked at Girl Scouts. I created separate manila folders for actions or projects and placed them in the DAY I wanted to act on it. Get creative and try a mixture of any and all of these solutions!
- KEEP THE PILES: For some, piles are still the way they prefer to work. Just make them organized piles! One idea is to use a different color folder for a different type of action so you can visually find what you need fast! There are even PileSmart products that can accommodate organized piles.
Action Book Tickler System
This is my personal favorite tickler system and the one I currently use. It is a presentation book with clear sleeves, similar to page protectors. I love it because I can just flip through each page to see what I want or need to act on and not have to sort through any paper at all.
Why the Action Book Tickler System works
Presentation books are usually lightweight, portable, sturdy, and have a limited number of sleeves. I LOVE the limited number of sleeves because it provides a natural boundary to how many actions I have going on at one time. If I have a new action and there are no empty sleeves available, I am motivated to act on something to create more space.
Challenges of the Action Book Tickler System
- Although you can have date sensitive items in the sleeves, it would be hard to keep them in any particular order. This would create a lot of shuffling of paper and a lot of extra work to make this happen.
- It can sometimes become the holding spot for decisions that are not made.
- They are not always the easiest things to find in office supply stores.
- This system does not work well for large amounts of action paper.
- If you make your own with sleeve protectors, you may have the tendency to keep adding more and more pages. Plus it will get heavy AND overwhelming.
How to create the Action Book Tickler System
- PRE-MADE: I purchased mine from Barnes & Noble in their office section. They tend to be more fun. Or you can check out Office Depot, Office Max or Staples to see what they have to offer. Be sure to ask for a "presentation book."
- MAKE YOUR OWN: If you have the following supplies at home, you can just make your own. Simply use a binder and sleeve protectors. I suggest limiting yourself to 15-20 sleeves and using a ½ inch ringed binder to keep it small and portable.
- COMBINE THE SOLUTIONS: Here is a thought! If you make your own, you could add tabs to separate the actions and group them as mentioned in the Group-It System above. You could even have daily and/or monthly tabs with sheet protectors in between to get more visual on the date sensitive items.
So, the next step is picking the tickler system that will work best for you, gather the supplies and start using it.
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