Golden Rule #12
Commit yourself to looking at new ideas once, with your full attention, and you will become a master decision-maker.
This is a staple of many time-management and organizational systems. People have a tendency to leave things where they will see them in order to deal with them later. Some classic examples include email inboxes, voicemail boxes (though beware of automatic deletion), desk surfaces.
These same people constantly worry about the number of things in their space but every time they get a new piece of information/email/letter etc. they look at it, read through it, and then leave it for later, even if it is something they don’t want.
The “touch once” principle says that as soon as you receive something you make a decision on what to do with it. If it can be used immediately, then do it. If it is junk to be tossed, then trash it at once. If it needs someone else’s attention then send it to them. This way your attention can focus on the things that need it.
Though some things may require more than one look, for example if you have limited time now, then you need to make sure that you have made a conscious decision to look at it again later. Think of the time you could save if you didn’t re-read all that junk email.
