Do you ever wonder what to do with that map to the event you’re attending on the 31st?  Or where to put that piece of paper that has the instructions on how to log into next week’s teleconference?  I used to let all of those types of papers pile up on my desk because I “didn’t want to lose them.”  But, inevitably, I’d end up “losing” them in the pile along with all those paper “reminders” for things I didn’t want to forget or needed to do.  Instead of becoming a reminder, the pile became something I learned to ignore and never looked at.  But there is a better way – it’s a daily tickler file to “tickle” your memory every day.

Get yourself two expandable accordion files: one labeled January – December and one labeled 1-31.  The one with 31 slots will become your daily tickler for the current month and the other your monthly tickler.  You can also create your own tickler files by labeling file folders and keeping them in a drawer or even a box.

Let’s say you get an invite to a wedding or a party that has a map on the back.  You RSVP by the appropriate deadline, but where do you put the map until the day of the event?  If the wedding’s on the 15th, put it in slot 15.  Each morning, look to see what’s in your tickler file that you need to accomplish or what pieces of paper you need for the day.

Use the monthly one to store things for future months on then on the 1st or 31st of each month; transfer it to the appropriate slot in the daily file.  You’ll eliminate that pile off your desk and never lose or forget that article from the magazine you clipped for the friend you’re seeing on the 22nd.  Be careful though…if you don’t check it every day this file can easily just become another black hole for papers and things to forget.  Sometimes out of sight truly is out of mind so keep this file near your desk and all those “reminders” will be close at hand and might actually work to remind you of something!