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Time Management
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The Index Card/Post-it® System
If you prefer a more user-friendly system for putting your tasks
in order, try this paper-based variation of the ABC system. Write
each of your duties on a separate index card. Lay the cards out
on a flat surface; then place them in order of importance or
needed action. You can also do the same with large Post-it®
notes. You need not even place them on a horizontal surface:
you can arrange them in rows on the wall. You can also use
large magnetic boards that allow you to move tasks around
easily.
These systems of prioritizing have two considerable advan-
tages. First, they permit a team of people to prioritize, because
a number of people can, at once, see and manipulate tasks.
Second—and more important—they enable you to see at a
glance, without rummaging around on your desk for a list,
exactly what your next task should be, saving a few moments of
your precious time.

The Tickler File
A slightly different version of the index card system involves
keeping a tickler file. Number 31 individual file folders, each
with a day of the month, and place them in hanging files (or use an
expandable file folder with 31 slots). Put each task you need to com-
plete into a file folder, based upon its time-sensitivity. For example, if you
need to pay a bill by the 25th, place it in the folder labeled the 19 th or
20th.The more time-sensitive an item, the earlier in the file it should be
placed. If an activity must be done on a given date, it should be placed in
the folder of the day before as a reminder, then moved to the correct
folder when read. Anything you must work on today and tomorrow
should be moved from today’s folder at the end of the day. Always pri-
oritize a day’s folder late in the afternoon of the previous day.
Electronic versions of date-driven tickler files have become a main-
stay of many businesses. If you must deal with something paper-based
(e.g., a property tax bill), then enter a reference to that bill in your
computer program’s tickler file (e.g.,“Pay the property tax”).