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43 Folders is the name its founder, Merlin Mann, uses for his current website and podcast.
The term originally referred to Mann’s analog system for organising the stuff your future self will need to see at a particular point in time. Think reminders, documents, recurring checklists, deadlines, household admin and chores.
The idea is that you have a file box with 12 files for the months of the year, and 31 additional folders for days of the month. If something needs to be looked at on a particular day, the you of today moves it to its relevant folder. The you of tomorrow, being in the habit of checking each day’s folder without fail, will be presented with the note or document or whatever it is, at exactly the right time.
So a birthday card I want to post on September 8th will sit in the September folder until the beginning of that month, at which point it will be shifted into the folder labelled 8. If I don’t yet have the birthday card ready, I might slip a note into the number 6 folder, reminding me to buy or make one.
I tried this system, once, in the 90s, but at that time I lacked the necessary discipline to keep it running. Anna Havron of Analog Office has one (she calls it her tickler file), and swears by it. After seeing how Anna has consistently used 43+ folders for many years, I’m (almost) tempted to give it another go.
David Allen (GTD) popularised, rather than invented, the term “tickler file”. His explanation of a tickler file describes changing the order of individual files each day. That, plus the fact that much of my ’paperwork‘ is actually paperless, reminds me why I will probably never fully implement this system again. I can see the benefit of the twelve monthly folders, however.
Surprisingly, the market isn’t flooded with ready-to-go stationery solutions for people who want to organise this way. I’ve found a few Letter size 43 folder products, but zero in the way of A4 or foolscap that would be useable out of the box.
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