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The Tickler File

Written by

Linda Chu

Published on

February 14, 2006

Published in

Office Organizing

Tagged as

filing, information management, paperwork

How many times each day do you spend writing yourself notes on pieces of paper and post-it notes, to remind yourself about a task that you must do? This action would be ideal if only you did not continue to miss doing or finding things.

The Tickler File — or some may know it as a BFF (Bring Forward File) is a tool that I recommend to almost all clients. It is a system to manage all those loose pieces of paper that do not belong to a specific project. Usually, these papers and tasks are related to an upcoming event. It could be tickets for a hockey game or a consent form for your child’s next field trip. These must be held and ‘brought forward’ on a specific date. This system in essence, ‘tickles’ your memory.

A Tickler File allows you to file this information on the date that you require it. It will always be in one place and never get lost. Gone will be the days where you pin something on the corkboard or leave something on your desk, only to have something else cover it and hide it from your searching eyes.

How to make a Tickler File

What you will need:

  • 43 file folders
  • 31 labelled 1 to 31
  • 12 labelled January to December

Folders labelled 1 to 31 represent the days of the month. Folders labelled January to December represent each month. There are also book-style tickler files that you can purchase. Contact me if you have trouble finding a supplier.

How to work your Tickler File

  • Place the current month folder in the front, followed by folders 1 to 31.  Then place folders for the months of the year in order.
  • Place all your loose pieces of paper on the appropriate day of the current month or in the monthly folders of subsequent months.
  • At the end of each month, you bring forward the next month’s folder and take out all papers in this monthly folder and file them into the appropriate daily folders.
  • Adjust your routine to look into your daily folders every day. This will remind you of all the papers and information that relate to your appointments for the current day.

Clearing your desk, counter, and corkboard of all those stray pieces of one-of-a-kind papers and events will not only help reduce your clutter, but it will ease the stress of that ‘out of sight, out of mind’ fear that we all have.

Do you need help with this? We offer a customized approach to organizing your home or office. Contact our Out of Chaos team today.

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