The Tickler
Posted on February 28, 2006 - Filed Under Philosophy |
In one weekend, I plowed through this booked called "No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs". Very few books capture my attention and force me to absorb every single word on every page. This book accomplished that in spades and I recommend it to everyone who happens to glance at this.
If you know me at all, you know that I’m in a constant state of improving myself. I try to add activities, habits, things, whatever to my life in order that I may enrich it. With each of these activities, there is always time involved. Lately, I’ve been feeling that I just don’t have enough time to get everything done. I’m also forgetting things, which happens with age. Since I don’t have enough income yet to hire a personal assistant, I have to get along.
The author of this book suggests a few, no-brainer techniques for organizing time. And one of them reached out and grabbed me. Of course this technique, I’m told, is popular with Accountants . . . and since I’m not an Accountant by any stretch of the imagination I never even heard of this technique.
It’s called a Tickler File. The name alone makes me laugh because I wonder what Google searches will bring people to my door with the word "tickler". In any case, a tickler file is nothing more than the next two or three months organized in one convenient location. This organization takes place in the form of folders, each identifying a day of the month. On that day, the file is removed and whatever is in the file is taken care of that day.
Here’s a photo of my box that I purchased at Office-max. It is just a standard, plastic
box with a high-speed, low drag technologically advanced paper-clip tray for holding . . . you guessed it! Paper clips! This particular box happens to be just big enough to hold two months worth of folders.
Opening the box reveals not a long lost Picasso but a varied collection of hanging folders. I did one set blue, the other red. Each different color represents a month. Each tab is numbered 1 through 30, which magically corresponds to the day of the month. Of course, the box of hanging folders has 25 folders . . . so for the last few days of the month, I doubled up the days. I didn’t want to buy another box of 25 in order to just get five. That math doesn’t add up!
As demonstrated by my Vanna White modeling, I put the letter, bill, article, file, or
whatever into the day that it is due. In this case, I put my mortgage statement into the "1" folder because it’s due on the first. When the first of the month rolls around, I’ll pull up this file and there will be my bill. All ready for me to pay it!
I figure this has to be an improvement over my old system, which has seen variations. In the olden days, I’d put bills on my desk so I wouldn’t lose them. I’d also put laundry, coffee mugs, computers, books, folders, magazines, etc on my desk. Of course the bill would disappear and I would resort to finding an old bill so I could copy down the information and pay it. My first improvement over this method was with a briefcase. I would tuck letters, bills, etc. into my briefcase so I would always have them with me. Of course when I’d get ready to pay, I never had my checkbook with me nor any stamps. Why? Because they were at home on my desk! As time went on, the amount of paper in my briefcase could cripple a donkey.
Yes, I kept all the receipts since learning that this is all a tax write-off. I love this country!
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