Keeping Track of Things

Organization is Key to Success. Initially, I found it challenging to keep track of the status of pending assignments, especially out of town service assignments that I had outsourced to another server.  You know how it goes; you get busy with the assignments visibly in front of you and, as the saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind”. Then you get a call from your client wanting to know the status of their assignment in the other state. Talk about awkward! How do you tell a client you don’t know whether or not their paper had been served? I don’t know about you, but I don’t like having to say I will check and call you back. I prefer to know the status and I prefer to be able to tell them when they call that I know the status and why or why not the paper has/has not been served.

Whoever “they” are… they are right when they say “necessity is the mother of invention”. So out of necessity, I adopted a follow up filing system that works for me. You can try this out for yourself and see how it works for you.

The key to my filing system is what has been termed a “tickler file”. Set it up as follows and usually you can fit it within a single drawer of any small filling cabinet. It’s set up on a calendar cycle with 31 folders (with one folder labeled for each day of a typical month) and an additional 12 folders (one labeled for each month of the year). After the system is set up and in place, you simply open the file folder for that day and see what you need to check on.

As I receive assignments, I create physical document reminders and place them in the various folders; I find it easiest to print an extra copy of the individual field-sheet and filing that document into the appropriate file folder. A blank sheet of paper also works, but then you have to write in the basic field-sheet information which is an extra step, taking that much more time. Place that sheet in the file folder that is 2-5 days out from when you received the assignment, depending upon how quickly you want to follow up on that assignment.

Example: March 5^th you get an assignment for service in another city or state. You locate your server and send the assignment to them. Print an extra copy of that assignment field-sheet or and place that document in the number “8” file folder. Just make sure whatever file folder you place the document in, is a business day.  On March 8, you simply open up the number “8” file folder, pull out the follow up documents and you now have a physical reminder to check on that assignment with the assigned out-of-town server.

As you take on more and more assignments over time, you place the physical paper reminders into the various numbered folders. At some point each day (preferably earlier rather than later) you open up that day’s numbered folder and there is your physical reminder to check on the assignment. Take whatever activity is necessary to find out what is going on with the service of your court documents by the server. Now when you get that phone call, you are prepared with a ready answer.

The twelve monthly folders work much the same way. Let’s say you have an assignment or other project that doesn’t require such quick follow-up.  The monthly folders are there for that purpose. 

You’ve begun working on a court document and now your client has called you to stop attempting to serve the court document until further notice and just hold on to it. This does come up on occasion and it is likely that you will eventually go back to attempting service. For now though, you have to hold on the service and you need to get the document off your desk without losing track of it. File the document as normal and if you will be following up in thirty days, place the extra field-sheet in the monthly folder that is thirty days out. Using the previous example, you would take the March 8 assignment that was put on hold on March 14, and file the field-sheet copy in the April folder. April comes along and the follow-up document is there to trigger the follow-up action.

You haven’t heard back by the follow-up time, so you contact the client and, sure enough, they completely forgot about it themselves and the matter was solved weeks ago, so you need to non-serve the court documents. You worked on this file and it is earned income that you could have invoiced weeks, maybe months ago.

So, you ask, why do I use a physical filing system? Why not set up reminders on my smartphone or computer, etc.? For me, there is something psychological about having a material, physical instrument in front of me that works far better as a reminder. I find electronic reminders are more easily set aside. Plus there’s something secure about a physical system that doesn’t crash like an electronic one might. Yes, it could be destroyed or otherwise damaged by fire, flood, tornado, hurricane or earthquake, and if that happened, you would probably be far more concerned about other things than with the status of pending assignments or projects.

There are alternate ways to keep organized, but this is a way I keep track of things that works well for me and has worked well for many years.

What’s your system of choice? Do you use a physical manual system or do you use something more high tech?

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