43 folders to rule it all

The understated brilliance of the tickler file is a standout dynamic in the world of organization and productivity. I've called my timeline system several things:

• The forever calendar

• My tickler file

• The Kanban calendar

We'll get to the Kanban part in the next chapter. For now, the spotlight is on the good 'ol tickler file. I didn't consciously pattern my system after the tickler file – but my system does bear an uncanny resemblance to this classic setup.

The tickler file typically consists of a series of 43 folders. One for each day of the month… plus 12 for each month of the year: 31+12 = 43.

This calendar-like setup of 43 folders can handle anything you throw at it. What one would ordinarily throw at a physical tickler file, is any paper-based document – and this assortment of paper-based input is all slotted in, according to future dates – the next time you want to see or take action on each item. Your documents might include items like:

• To-do lists

• Bills to pay

• Travel tickets

• Hotel reservations

• Birthday reminders

• Coupons

… or any other paper item that requires future action.

And then each day, you pull out the folder with the current date and take action on the documents therein. It's essentially a deluxe reminder system that presents to you, a day at a time, the items you've determined beforehand you'd want to come to your attention on any future date – the things you want to "tickle" your memory. You're making future you's life easier and more organized by filing any items under the next logical, reasonable or opportune date.

Each day, you empty the current daily folder and move it to the back of the queue. At the beginning of a new month, you move the items from the next month's folder into the corresponding daily folders.

Still in fashion

Various permutations of the tickler file have been around since the early 1800's – so for at least a couple of hundred years now. Nowadays, we get to use both the paper-based version and its digital counterpart. The reason the tickler file system has been used for so long, is because it lines up with the timeline we live on. It's really a robust and flexible calendar, through and through – and we're not about to ditch the calendar any time soon. I don't think we'll ever grow out of the calendar, as long as we operate within the framework of days, months and years.

GTD and the tickler file

The tickler file features prominently in David Allen's book, "Getting Things Done". And so I'm rather flummoxed when I find that the majority of self-professed, hard-core GTD practitioners that I run into, have nothing resembling a tickler file – especially those who have digital systems going.

Typically what they've done is based their systems on categories. And within those categories—whether they be projects, areas of responsibility, etc.—they give items due dates by tagging them or giving them date stamps. They have smart, complex systems, however, they're also missing out on the flow of a tickler file…

In order for things to not slip through the cracks, those who organize primarily according to areas and categories—as opposed to a tickler-file/calendar based system—usually need to have a rigorous system in place for revising their projects, life areas, etc. frequently, so that they can identify next actions in those categories or areas and then somehow filter for them when the time is right. This requires discipline, dedication and perseverance. Day in and day out. It requires a concerted effort to maintain – the kind of repetition and slogging away that I don't relish. I just cannot do it. I need to have a self-regulating system that doesn't require me to go hunting for the things I need to do next.

With the current vs. across the current

Invariably, GTD practitioners who don't have a system rooted in the flow of time need to be systematic, disciplined and precise with the mechanics of their system. They need to have several rigorous protocols in their organizational workflow in order to maintain their system and keep it moving forward. The system doesn't maintain itself… it's not self-regulating.

I'm thoroughly impressed with many such GTD practitioners. I admire the work ethic behind their systems. I don't have the endurance to do what they're doing. They need to be strong, confident swimmers to swim across the current. They're not swimming against the current… but neither are they swimming with the current—the flow of time—they're swimming across it. It's an added challenge. It's another level up from where I'm at. Whatever energy I can muster up, I'd like it to go into my projects and life's activities, and not so much into maintaining my system. I quite like the path of least resistance when it comes to organizing and scheduling things.

One tiny shift makes all the difference

We put a lot of time into creating categories. They're necessary. It's an excellent idea to group like items. For instance:

• Ideas related to a specific project

• Activities to try for date night

• Adventures you'd like to have with your family

• Exercises you've researched for workout routines

These are all projects/ categories that can live on your timeline – either in the form of scheduled events—whether once-off or cyclic—or as categories you can review individually.

Let me give you a couple of examples:

Date night

Every Thursday evening my wife and I have several hours free to do whatever we want. Now the ideas and plans I have for date nights don't live in an outline outside of my timeline in a nested structure that I often see many folk use: Areas of responsibility > family > wife > date night > ideas. There are many things that folk have in categories that deserve to live on their timelines. Even if you don't have it all perfectly planned out. You know the saying: "If at first you don't succeed…" – well, the timeline gives you as many opportunities as you need to get the ball rolling on anything.

Date night does not need to go into an areas of responsibility outline – next to other activities related to my wife, or other family members. These things don't need to be grouped. In fact, for most people, certain things are only grouped together because it's the most logical place we can find for things to have a home. And it's a good start. But I'd rather have the important things in life on my timeline so that I can interact with and live them out rather than giving them a home (or a tomb) outside of my timeline.

Move by 3pm

This outline lives on my timeline. I recycle it daily. I log physical activity I engage in daily in this space… and I also have reference material therein related to certain workout routines or ideas I'd like to try. So instead of these items living in: Areas of responsibility > health > exercise… I have this outline front and center on my timeline. It's there for the doing.

I have much more to say in line with this train of thought in the chapters to come, but just to get back to contrasting "Getting Things Done" when operating within a timeline/ tickler file setup vs. trying to squeeze living out of well-laid categories… there are two thoughts I'd like to focus in on and distil here:

1. What makes you remember the important things?

Often our beautifully-organized categories are just that: beautifully-organized outlines. They're all organized into logical hierarchies. But what is it that makes us remember to go into those well-organized outlines and schedule those things, so that we actually get around to doing those important things?

In my experience, it's usually when life starts to feel a little unbalanced and out of kilter. We get the feeling that we should be spending more quality time with our loved ones… that we should be more proactive with our health… that we're not making progress on the projects that are significant to us. We feel a little guilty and we're likely seeing the consequences of stagnating in certain area… and at times like these, we usually think to ourselves, "Ok, maybe it's time to take a look at my areas of responsibility outline." We know that we've been letting much of what we hold to be important in life totally fall through the cracks. That's what generally motivates many people to go back and review certain categories.

Now when you have those important categories broken down into recognizable, standalone categories, that can legitimately get scheduled as activities and events on your timeline, those things live and breathe on your timeline. They live in your tickler file perpetually or until they've run their course. It's impossible for them to be forgotten or overlooked. They're right there in the mix of the rhythms and cycles of your days and weeks. It doesn't need to result in life getting the better of you before you remember the important things – and only then seek out those pertinent things you'd once thought through and recorded.

2. Categories on your timeline

Most categories you already have that are not living on your timeline, can easily go on your timeline just the way they are, with little to no tweaking. We'll expand on this in a later chapter. You can plot as broad of a category as you want on your timeline, or you can narrow it down to an actionable activity. You don't need to have everything figured out before things go on your timeline. Remember that your timeline can handle anything you throw at it, including massive backlogs – except we're going to call them "forward logs", since everything will be ahead of us on our timeline. You get to cast your categories out as close or as far into the future as you want – to the next logical, reasonable or opportune time that you determine.

Organizational and psychological benefits

So we're starting to dip our toes into the overlapping organizational and psychological benefits of operating on a timeline. Don't worry if this still seems a little fuzzy at this point. We're going to continue iterating and layering in concepts and dynamics that reinforce what we're covering now. More gaps will be filled in and more of the questions that are coming to mind will be answered. We're going to keep layering this papier-mâché creation until it takes shape and form.

There are numerous organizational and psychological benefits to the timeline. Following on from the train of thought in this chapter, we can begin to see that a timeline-based system will make it impossible for the important things in life to get away from us and slip through the cracks. The timeline does not allow anything you put into it to be forgotten or get left behind. That's because we're more concerned about when the next logical, reasonable or opportune time is, that we want to see something again, as opposed to what nested categories we can slot something into.

Many psychological and organizational benefits come in bundles. How we organize things make all the difference in the world when it comes to feeling like you've got a system you can trust – which in turn reduces mental overhead when you let your system take care of everything… which cuts down on anxiety and feelings of overwhelm. You're then experiencing what they call a "virtuous cycle". There are several chapters ahead related to the psychological benefits of operating on a timeline. The next chapter will shed a lot more light on exactly this. Now we're getting warmed up.

Add personal kanban into the mix →