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3x5 Card Tickler Files
CathyHughes | Jan 26 2007
So now I have a hybrid system -- I use a notebook as a capture device and I have tagged pages for shopping list reminders. But now I'm finding a friction point on my 3x5 tickler causing me distress when I re-file repeating tasks. I have my tasks on 3x5 cards and place them accordingly by date. Works well except when I need to schedule a task to the next week and I'm having trouble sorting through the day (1-31) cards to find the following, say, Thursday, or the 2nd Thursday of next month. How do you tackle this? I'm thinking I need to add Sunday-Saturday cards, but that seems inefficient. Or maybe use colored removable post-its on each day card to signify the day of the week, seems a little inefficient but not so much as the first idea. I don't really want to do weekday tags because I have appts that I insert into the tickler file also. But maybe this is more efficient than the above? Maybe set up 4 sets of weekday tags for each month and look at a calendar to match the date with the appropriate weekday? Or maybe somehow band each week together? What are you doing? 6 Comments
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 I use a regular calendar...Submitted by SansPoint on January 26, 2007 - 7:08am.
I use a regular calendar (okay... iCal), and just look at the dates. »
 I've tried using calendars, LifeBalance,...Submitted by CathyHughes on January 26, 2007 - 10:53am.
I've tried using calendars, LifeBalance, and tasks lists. None of them have the advantage of the 3x5 system which I like. That is to take out all cards for the day, organize them by time of day and energy level, take into account outside activities and shifting priorities, and be able to multi-task (things like laundry which can happen at the same time as small 10 minute tasks). Given the flexibility of the 3x5 system, I'm going to stick with it until some of the routine tasks become unconscious habits and I don't have so much to track on paper. My only friction point is the above. I can get around it be posting a two month calendar in front of the box, I think, but I'm looking for other feasible ideas as well. »
I've tried using calendars I, too,...Submitted by Craig on January 26, 2007 - 11:02am.
CathyHughes;7864 wrote:
I've tried using calendars I, too, at first thought SansPoint was missing your original intent, but I now think his point was that he uses iCal to check how the days of the week fall with dates - he's suggesting not that you abandon your cardbox for a calendar, but you use a calendar for the information you need to help work your cardbox... »
Thanks for the clarification, Craig....Submitted by CathyHughes on January 26, 2007 - 12:04pm.
Thanks for the clarification, Craig. Unfortunately, I tend to turn off the computer when I'm working on my tasks :( The computer is just too distracting a toy. »
I, too, at first thought...Submitted by SansPoint on January 26, 2007 - 9:15pm.
Craig;7865 wrote:
I, too, at first thought SansPoint was missing your original intent, but I now think his point was that he uses iCal to check how the days of the week fall with dates - he's suggesting not that you abandon your cardbox for a calendar, but you use a calendar for the information you need to help work your cardbox... Yeah. That was what I meant. I just check an actual calendar to find out which tickler folder is for which day of the week. »
I have a monthly calendar...Submitted by NurseGirl on January 30, 2007 - 7:37am.
I have a monthly calendar hanging on the wall pretty close to my Tickler. I haven't found anything simpler than that. »
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