The 'Touch It Once' Rule: Handle Small Tasks Immediately

How many times do you read an email and think, "I'll deal with this later"? Then you read it again the next day. And again. Each time, you spend mental energy re-processing the same thing without actually doing it.

The "touch it once" rule is simple: if a task takes under five minutes and you're already looking at it, handle it right now. Reply to the email, sign the form, file the receipt. Every time you defer a tiny task, you pay an invisible tax of re-reading, re-deciding, and re-finding it later.