The ‘Touch It Once’ principle is insanely useful for procrastinators

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The ‘Touch It Once’ principle is insanely useful for procrastinators

I even used it to write this tbh

First, let it be known that I’m always on the lookout for “life hacks” (read: I am a huge sucker).

I tried that dumb Secret “power of attraction” thing and unless I was trying to attract 20 pounds and men with bad attitudes, that didn’t work. I tried that “art of tidying” thing lampooned on Gilmore Girls, but because my home will looks like Hurricane Sandy aftermath, it’s safe to assume that didn’t work either.

But theeeen, I read about what I thought would be more dumb shit — the “touch it once” policy, and lo and behold: it was good. 

The “touch it once” idea is pretty obvious, and once you hear it, duh! will be your first thought, but it’s actually way harder to stick to than you’d think — and that means the payoff is bigger.

Basically, the policy states that once you touch something, be it your math homework, your email inbox, your checkbook, you commit to finishing your task right then and there. Too often we look at one of the zillion things we need to do and say, “Oh yeah, I’ll get to that later” but later (surprise!) never fucking comes.

The second something pops up, whether it’s an email you have to respond to, a letter you have to mail, or a worksheet to finish up, just touch it once. Do it now and never forget a task again.

Ok, you’ll probably still forget stuff but this will definitely help.