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Ryan Norbauer | Oct 25 2007
I was recently skimming through my beloved old 1934 edition of Progressive Indexing and Filing, which I inherited at a young age from my grandmother—probably my first piece of productivity porn (the book, not my grandmother.) On page 85, I stumbled across a delightful little gem. Apparently, not only did the David not invent the tickler file (news to me), but it’s been around since at least 1934. The tickler file has been central to the GTD workflow since David Allen’s first book was published, and I’ve used one (admittedly on and off, and with varying levels of success) for the last four years. The name of this venerable blog itself is an allusion to the 43 folders that comprise the tickler file (12 months + 31 days). Here are a couple of tidbits from text:
For a good bid of historical life-hackery, check out this classic tome. If Amazon is sold out, you can also give Abebooks a try. 9 Comments
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 Good Old DaysSubmitted by richarmstrong on October 26, 2007 - 6:09am.
I did admin for a small pension fund manager back in the early 90’s. He used a tickler and had been using it for decades. I always thought it was a great way to work. Kudos to the David, though, for popularizing it, and making it one of the cornerstones of his system. »
my dad had oneSubmitted by teacherninja on October 26, 2007 - 10:21am.
He used it back in the 70s/80s. He got it from another productivity guru/efficiency expert. David Allen mentions a couple of other productivity folks in passing in his book he says he learned things from, but has no notes. Has anyone looked them up? »
The original 43 foldersSubmitted by GraceLS on October 26, 2007 - 12:19pm.
I think the vast majority of legal secretaries have used such a tickler system for decades, but I agree that David Allen deserves credit for dusting the system off and making it relevant to everyone. »
 geniusSubmitted by norbauer on October 26, 2007 - 7:44pm.
Totally. The genius of David Allen is not in originality of his thought but his broad vision for assimilating disparate hacks into a comprehensive system that can handle almost any input in one’s life. »
 FlexibilitySubmitted by cbowler on October 27, 2007 - 1:05pm.
As well, Mr. Allen recognizes that there is no one exact system for everyone, but rather emphasizes the concepts behind his system. And these concepts can be adapted into many different formats, being flexible enough to allow different personalities to be more productive and less stressed! »
Who Would Have ThoughtSubmitted by yosemitereserva... on October 28, 2007 - 7:34am.
Who would have thought that David Allen did not invent the entire world ? »
 ha!Submitted by emory on October 29, 2007 - 3:49pm.
I just think it’s beyond amazing that there was something ever called “Progressive Indexing and Filing”, never mind that it was over seventy years ago. »
 selectionSubmitted by unabuilder on October 30, 2007 - 9:59pm.
In his Philosophy of Modern Art, Sir Herbert Read states: “The only true creation is procreation; all else is selection.” »
Another David "Selection"?Submitted by simte on November 25, 2007 - 11:31am.
When I read the first time GTD, I remember of a diary with context I used years ago. Now, when I decided to return to paper (after the years of PDA), I try to use the moleskine diary. But finally I find it again! It was the Quo Vadis Agenda Planning, born in 1950s… Maybe they also inspired the 1 week view in outlook. :-) »
About norbauerBio Ryan Norbauer is an armchair web application philosopher, madcap productivity theorist without portfolio, and entrepreneurial dilettante. He is founder of the widely praised gay dating community Lovetastic.com, President of Norbauer Inc Consulting (which specializes in Ruby on Rails development,) and purveyor of fine über-nerdy t-shirts. He writes about productivity and whatnot here and programming here. Norbauer has a multifarious past as a writer and researcher, having worked at the British Parliament, NASA, the CDC, and even a psychiatric hospital (among other things.) |
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