Efficiently Managing Disorder: One-Touch Method for Decluttering

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The One-Touch Rule is a practical strategy designed to reduce stress, clutter, and repetitive tasks in everyday life. This rule encourages managing tasks, emails, or items as soon as they are encountered, aiming to prevent piling up and overwhelm. This approach is particularly beneficial for neurodivergent individuals, including those with ADHD, as it helps to reduce cognitive overload and improve focus.

The One-Touch Rule supports better attention regulation by reducing multitasking and mental clutter. It fosters simplified environments that make it easier to stay on task. Moreover, it complements other neurodiversity-affirming strategies that work with rather than against an individual's brain wiring, emphasizing consistency over perfection.

For neurodivergent individuals who may find touching an item "once" overwhelming, the rule allows for a bit of flexibility. You can touch it twice, but with structure, by moving it into an "action area" and scheduling a specific time for follow-up.

To overcome time blindness, it's essential to make time visual, schedule "touch tasks", set reminders, and create external supports. Adapting the One-Touch Rule for neurodivergent needs involves using visual reminders, breaking tasks into smaller steps, and creating sensory-friendly solutions.

Sensory-friendly solutions can be achieved by using bins with smooth handles and pairing sorting tasks with music you enjoy to help reduce stress during the process. External supports include using checklists, accountability partners, and automating tasks where possible.

To use visual reminders, store tools or supplies in transparent containers and label drawers, shelves, or bins. To move past perfectionism, shift focus to progress, set time limits, and break down big goals into smaller steps. By adopting this strategy, you'll create spaces and routines that support how your mind works.

The One-Touch Rule is about creating systems that prioritize immediate action to keep both physical and mental clutter at bay. It offers a structured approach to address common challenges faced by neurodivergent people, aiming to give individuals the tools to create a more intentional, less overwhelming life. By making day-to-day tasks feel less chaotic, the One-Touch Rule can help neurodivergent people thrive in their daily lives.

[1] Neurodiversity-Affirming Strategies for ADHD: A Guide for Parents, Educators, and Professionals. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.add.org/adhd-info/adhd-101/neurodiversity-affirming-strategies-for-adhd

[2] Neurodiversity in the Workplace: Practical Supports for Neurodivergent Professionals. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/learning-problems/executive-functioning-issues/neurodiversity-in-the-workplace-practical-supports-for-neurodivergent-professionals

[3] Neurodiversity in the Workplace: Strategies for Managing Executive Function Demands. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/learning-problems/executive-functioning-issues/neurodiversity-in-the-workplace-strategies-for-managing-executive-function-demands

To help manage time effectively for productivity, consider incorporating the One-Touch Rule into your courses, routines, and lifestyle, along with strategies like time management, habits, and decision-making.
For women and neurodivergent individuals who struggle with anxiety, attention, and decision-making, implementing the One-Touch Rule can offer relief by reducing mental clutter and improving focus.
To support neurodivergent individuals in academic settings, educators could adopt the One-Touch Rule to create organized environments and implement neurodiversity-affirming strategies, such as office layouts, routines, and visual supports.
Achieving better organization and productivity through the One-Touch Rule can have positive impacts on health-and-wellness, mental-health, and fitness-and-exercise routines.
By combining the One-Touch Rule with additional science-backed strategies, such as time-blocking, the Pomodoro Technique, and eating a balanced diet, you can effectively manage your daily tasks and schedules.
Incorporating neurodiversity-affirming strategies like the One-Touch Rule can be particularly beneficial in support groups and peer networks for women and neurodivergent individuals, fostering connections and promoting self-empowerment.
To extend the One-Touch Rule from home-and-garden spaces to workspaces, consider establishing similar practices in office environments and promoting neurodiversity awareness in the mental-health, health-and-wellness, and fitness-and-exercise sectors.
For neurodivergent professionals seeking to excel in their careers, resources like Neurodiversity in the Workplace and Neurodiversity-Affirming Strategies for ADHD can provide practical solutions and supports to help navigate executive function demands and succeed in the workforce.
To create a more sustainable life that reduces stress and increases productivity, consider applying the One-Touch Rule to your daily routines, coursework, work, and home-and-garden organization systems.
Implementing the One-Touch Rule can also extend to overall self-care, including fitness-and-exercise, mental-health, and nutrition, by supporting healthy habits, routines, and mindsets.