Search:

Amber’s Home and Office Organizing Blog index

Tickler Systems

31 Day Tickler Filing System

Managing Paper, Bills and Tasks Each day of the Month

So let me be honest right from the start. I usually don’t suggest tickler systems for my clients. However, for some they do work. So today I’d like to address this system and idea. You never know. It could work for you. I have many organizer friends who actually use tickler systems for various things. So, if it works for an organizer, it can’t be completely useless. 

Have you ever seen something like this sitting on someone’s desk? This is a 31 day bill organizer. To make this product work, the owner puts the bill in the appropriate day he or she wants to pay the bill, thus insuring the bill is paid on time.  Of course one still has to check it every day to see if a bill has to be paid. In reality, technology has made this product obsolete. If you use online banking, you basically choose which day you’d like the bank to pay your bills, set the reoccurring feature, and with a click of the mouse you’re done. You don’t have to think about it ever again. I know there’s always a handful of people that want the bill to come in the mail and they’d like to write their own checks out. That’s just fine. This bill organizer might be what you need. 

Then there’s task management. Tickler files work well for that. For instance Smead’s daily paper pockets seen here. Again, you drop papers in the appropriate day of the month to remind you to do something, find papers that you need for a particular meeting or event, or a greeting card you need to mail out by a certain date. It really eliminates all the paper left laying around to “remind us”  not forget about that particular piece of paper. When using a tickler system you can put it safely away knowing that on the day you’ll need it, it will be sitting in the appropriate numbered day waiting for you.

Of course technology has really outdone this system as well. Gmail and Outlook both compete by allowing you to write in appointments and tasks. Then your computer reminds you to do it. 

What about you? Do you use a tickler system? Or a computer system?

 

*Screen Name:
Question or comment:
This is a private message or question
	* denotes required field