OHIO

I’ve learned about the acronym OHIO from a few places and after searching I can’t find who to attribute it to. But this isn’t original to me.

OHIO stands for Only Handle It Once. I use it to save time in my own life and I sometimes use it with my kids.

An example for my kids could be while they’re getting dressed. Do they throw their clothes on the floor or put them in their drawer right away?

Which is easier? If the clothes move from your body to the floor and then later to your drawer, you’re handling those clothes at least twice and maybe more. Only Handle It Once. Put it straight in the drawer.

Seeing that my kids have a clean room makes me happy, but it should make them happy, too. Because by Only Handling It Once, they have more time to do whatever else they want to do.

More time equals more freedom.

And an example for how I use it is email. If possible, I never want to look at an email more than once. To do this, I never look at my email unless I know I have time to answer emails. And I always move an email out of my inbox after I’ve processed it.

Rather than looking at my emails over and over every time I open my inbox, I only handle them once. This enables me to give much more focused attention to anyone who emails me, and it also saves me time. (Some folks call this Inbox 0, but it’s just one application of OHIO.)

How many processes in your life have unnecessary steps? Cut them down to as few steps as you can. So much so that, if possible, you are able to Only Handle It Once.

What do you think?
Joseph