Just What is a Tickler File?

I often feel like the great little guy Ziggy. In one of my favorite cartoons, Ziggy is seated at a desk and notices that his inbox is overflowing, and papers soon stack up over his head. He looks out at us so pitifully and says "Although I've never been able to catch them, I swear these things reproduce!" Ziggy, my friend…I can relate.

Even in this computer age I'm daily inundated with papers. I have a laptop and a Blackberry, but still I must handle real paper documents. In Star Trek you didn't see much paper, but remember…that's in the 23rd century. In this century we'll probably have paper with us for sometime to come. I have often been overwhelmed by the avalanche of papers that cover my desk and overflow my inbox. Keeping up with all those papers can be a nightmarish.

Many of the documents I receive in a given day will require action on my part, not today but in the future. Sometimes that date can be months in the future. A challenge is how to file those papers somewhere today in order to retrieve them again in future on the exact date they're needed. The solution…the Tickler File!

A tickler file is a filing system, a set of folders that will enable you to file papers for action in the future. Your tickler file will put those papers in front of you on the exact future date you require them. It is a relatively simple, inexpensive system, and doesn't take long to create. Using a tickler file will keep your papers ready for the day you need to take action on them.

A tickler file system consists of two sets of file folders, 43 in all. There are 31 daily folders numbered 1 through 31; and 12 monthly folders labeled January through December. You can use plain manila folders, hanging folders, or if you have many documents you could also use a file pocket for each day and month. Use what will work best for you.

How to Create Your Tickler File System

Take 31 folders and label each with a number 1 through 31. Take the other twelve and label them January through December. Make a place in your desk to install the folders. You'll use them daily so you want them close at hand, not in a file cabinet that will require you to get up and down each time you need to file documents in your ticker file. I'm a district manager for my company, which requires me to travel throughout the Carolinas. Since I'm not in my office everyday I've put my tickler file in a mobile file box that I can take on the road. Put your tickler file where you will use it. When I was a branch manager and in my office everyday, it was in the right file drawer of my desk.

Get your folders in the right order to begin. To do this, you'll put the folder with the current day of the month in front, followed by the others in numerical order. For example, suppose today is July 4th. You will put the "4" folder in front, followed by 5-31, and folders 1-3 behind those. Next, you'd take the "August" folder and put it between the "31" and "1" folders. You'd then place the remaining monthly folders behind the "3" folder in the order September through July. Got it?

How to Use Your Tickler File

Again, let's say today is July 4th. As you start your day, you'd pull the "4" folder from the file (assuming you're in the office on July 4th - how dedicated you are!). Since that's today's folder it would contain documents you had placed it in prior to today. You put those papers in that folder because you determined that you would need to act on them today…July 4. With the folder now on your desk you have those papers in front of you again on the appropriate date. Slick, huh?

After removing the contents from the "4" folder you place it back in the drawer behind the "3" folder. Now the folders are in this order: 5 through 31, "August", folders 1-4, followed by September through July. Numbered folders 1, 2, 3, and 4 now represent August 1 through 4. If your inbox today contained a paper you'll need again on August 4, you'd place it in the "'4" folder because it now represents August 4th. As you remove the front folder each day and replace it in the file, it represents the same day in the coming month. Make sense?

The monthly folders give you a way to file documents you'll need in the months following the coming month. In our example of today being July 4, if your inbox contains a document you won't need again until August 10th, you would place it in the August folder. A good trick is to take a post-it note and write "10" on it, and then stick it on the document. When you are ready to "distribute" the monthly folder contents, you'll know that it will go in the "10" folder. You may wonder "Why can't I just put it in the "10" folder now?" That's because the "10" folder still represents July 10. The folders you move behind August represent those dates in August. Documents for dates beyond the current and coming months must be placed in the folder for the month they'll be needed. So, something needed on August 10 for now goes in the August folder.

Distributing the Monthly Folders

At some point near the end of the current month (July in our example) you'd pull the next month's folder - August - and distribute any papers in it to the appropriate daily folders. Let's say it's now July 30. Behind August you'd see daily folders 1 - 29. Remember the item you put in the August folder with a "10" on it? You take it and place it in the "10" folder because now it does represent August 10. On the morning of August 10 you'd pull that folder and…wow…there it is. That paper you took from your inbox back on July 4, but knew you didn't need again until August 10 is in your hands now…on August 10th. It's almost like magic!

On August 1 you'll make sure that all contents have been moved from the August folder and placed in the appropriate daily folders. You'll now move the August folder to the very back of the file, behind July. It now represents August of next year. Your file should now look as follows: daily folders 1 through 31 and monthly folders September through August. You'd remove the contents from the "1" folder for action today, and place the "1" folder behind September, which now represents September 1.

You repeat this process everyday, and always your tickler file system will provide a place to store documents for anytime in the future. You can even file items for future use beyond a year. Just put the document in the appropriate monthly folder with a post-it indicating the date you'll need it.

Tickler File Maintenance

A word of caution: your tickler file requires maintenance. The easiest way to maintain the file is to use the file everyday. If you do, then you are maintaining it on a daily basis. If, however, you get lazy and don't use it for several days (or weeks) it'll be of no value to you. Papers you decided that you needed on particular dates will remain hidden in your tickler file, and you will fail to take the appropriate actions. If you create a tickler file, use it! If you fall behind, catch up as quickly as possible. The whole point of a tickler file is to put papers in your hands on the day they're needed.

The Benefits of Your Tickler File

The two most obvious benefits are improved efficiency and productivity. By always having the papers you need for action on the day you really need them, you'll be more efficient and productive. You'll save time because you don't have to search for the documents (and I have spent hours looking for papers "lost on my desk"). The tickler file puts documents back in front of you when you need them. An added benefit is reduced stress, which comes from worrying about having those papers again in the future when you really need them. You're relieved from that worry because you know your tickler file will enable you to have the papers on the day they're needed. Your boss, your peers, and your subordinates will take notice. Your subordinates will think your on top of your game, your peers will envy you, and perhaps your boss will give you a raise! So, what are you waiting for? Get your tickler file started today!