Reading: 4.3—One-Touch Calendar Filing System

4.3 One-Touch Calendar Filing System: There is a steady stream of documents, mail, email, voicemail, etc., to deal with, and the typical pastor’s desk gets lost in piles that are often searched through numerous times. This can be avoided with a one-touch calendar filing system that was explained to me over thirty years ago that I have been using ever since. My methodology is a bit old school, having learned this technique before personal computers were on the scene, so convert this to a digital system if that’s your preference. What I’m going for here is the organizing principle.

Begin with a filing system that includes thirty-one folders labeled with the numbers 1-31, twelve folders labeled with the months of the year from January-December, and four or five folders labeled with the next four or five calendar years. The key is to “touch” each item that comes to you once and only once. This is accomplished by handling each item properly the first time.

What are the handling options? First, if the item is unnecessary, throw it away or delete it. Second, if the item needs to be handled immediately, handle it immediately and be done with it. Third, if the item needs to be handled within the next month, but not immediately, determine when you want or need to handle it and place it in the proper numbered folder. For example, let’s say you receive a communication on the 6th of the current month that needs to be handled by the 29 th of the month. Place it in the folder labeled 29. On the 29th, open that folder and handle what’s inside. Or, with pro-active scheduling, place it in, say, the folder labeled 26. On the 26th, open that folder and handle this item, allowing for a cushion of a few days. Here’s another example; let’s say you receive a communication on the 28th of the month that needs to be handled by the 10th of the following month. That’s within the one-month range, so place that item in the folder labeled 10 and you will encounter it on the 10th of the following month. Using this technique, you’re only touching this item once and then filing it where it can be out of sight and out of mind until it’s time to handle it. No piling on the desk; no wondering where it went; no fear of losing or forgetting it.

Fourth, if the item does not need to be handled within the next month, move to the folders labeled January-December. Determine in which month the item needs to be handled and place it in that month’s folder. For example, let’s say you receive a communication in March regarding an item that requires no action from you until August. Place that item in the folder labeled August. On August 1st , open your August file. Determine which day in August each of the August file items needs to be handled and place each item in the proper folder labeled 1-31. So, if you open your August folder and find an item that needs to be handled by August 17th, place that item in the folder labeled 17. On the 17th , open that folder and handle that item.

Fifth, and final, if the item doesn’t need to be handled within the next year, move to the folders labeled for future years and place that item in the proper folder. For example, let’s say an item arrives in 2020 regarding a conference that will be held in April of 2022. Place that item in the folder labeled 2022. On January 1, 2022, remove that item and place it in the folder labeled April. When April arrives, open the April folder and place that item in the proper 1-31 folder.

It has taken a bit of repetitive explanation to unpack this system, but I know that it works because I have been using it since the mid-80s. Even now as I enter these words into my computer, my one-touch system is approximately two feet away from me in a file cabinet. Each day I begin with prayer, Bible reading, and my 1-31s.

Let me close with a tip from an entertaining and instructive book by Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. She offers this advice: Discard ruthlessly! Managing Ministry Time well is greatly supported by the One-Touch Calendar Filing System.