Office-Tickler (1888) [pdf] | Hacker News Reader

Office-Tickler (1888) [pdf]

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29 pointsTomte18 comments

For those who haven’t gotten into that ecosystem, that’s the origin of the “tickler file” in Getting Things Done. Also, Merlin Mann’s “43 Folders” website: 31 folders for the days of the month, plus 12 for the months.

Wikipedia has more context: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tickler_file

I first heard about “tickler files” in the book Getting Things Done. Didn’t realize they went back so far.

From the Wiki page, the goal of this is to organize your work in a queue based on the due date of each item. The challenge for me would be that every work item I have in home or business life needs to be done ASAP as long as the next most priority thing is either complete or blocked on something external. It's extremely rare to have a deliverable that's due next December.

I don't have many uses for my tickler file, but it's usually concert tickets, bookings and itineraries for travel etc.

After years of trying to perfect my home "office" system, I just have a 2-year stack of correspondence (electric bills and whatever) , which works out to about about a ream of paper. Upon intake I stamp the date in the upper right corner (because nobody can seem to standardize on this) and every couple of months I peel the >2yr off and shred it.

> I peel the >2yr off and shred it

Oh how I wish I had the courage to shred paperwork older than 2 years. Here are a few true examples where I'm glad I didn't shred too early:

- lifetime warranty claim on an appliance required the original receipt from 12 years ago

- needed to verify details on a lawyer's bill that arrived 4 years after the service was done

- parents' tax return from 30(!) years ago that had critical info about a capital gains issue

And let's not forget that tax records might be needed up to 3 years after filing in case of an audit (and some sources say 7 years).

I think my taxes would be the most boring audit ever, but the point is you need to have a system for indexing the stuff in case you need to find something and you need to set some kind of retention period (possibly a flexible one depending on the content) so it doesn't become a burden on your life. There's no reason I should continue to provide space in my life for a document that just says what greasy spoon restaurant and hip bookstore me and my ex visited in 2003. Maybe something more important, as you alluded to, can be moved to a different queue.

Basic usage procedure:

> Using folders, items scheduled for the current month are placed within the appropriate daily folder. Items which need to be done in a future month are placed in the corresponding monthly folder. Every day, the current daily folder is emptied and placed at the back of the set. At the start of a new month, the items for that month are removed from the month folder and placed in the corresponding daily folders.

I was more surprised that tickler files were patentable (ie not obvious) as late as the XIX!

(was correspondence low enough beforehand that they just used linear scan?)

Lots of law practices and courts run on “ticklers”.

One of my Customers still uses an MS-DOS based “tickler” app from the mid-80s. I’ve kept the app running w/ DOSBox because they love it so much. They have a ton of procedures setup around the application— it’s effectively “tooling” for their business.

I’ve look at replacing the application in the past, however their efficiency of the text-based interface would be difficult to beat and rewriting procedures would be a time sink.

A text-based export from the DOS app and import into Outlook via a script “integrated” it with their shared Exchange calendars back in the early 2000’s. Microsoft’s commitment to compatibility has kept that rolling into Office 365. It works ridiculously well for what it is.

Can I still buy one? I don't mean some kind of box file nonsense. I want a small wooden device which will sit on my desk, as per the advert shown at the bottom of https://isabellaalden.com/tag/frank-smiths-office-tickler/. This would be so much more efficient than the inferior software solutions I put up with.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/385624794612 exists as do some others, but they don't have the cards. You could probably replicate them pretty easily.

You could probably hire a woodworker to make one to your specifications.

Sure, but not wooden: https://www.classei-shop.com/Fertig-Sets/Terminverfolgung

If you're looking for a utilitarian solution then you could buy a card file box along with a set each of index card guides for the days and months. Then just use index cards to write your tasks/appointments on and file them appropriately.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/334789190460?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid...

If you want an original.

Easily available at office stores you have: accordion file holders, box file holder,

Options such as:

https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwi4iaiE-qn_AhXO5cg...

And

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Office-30-Pocket-PocketFiles...

A 4x6 offering:

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEw...

But if you search for “card catalog” or “library card holder”

You’ll find some new 4x6 options.

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEw...