The One-Touch Rule for Flower Farmers: How to Save Time, Energy, and Sanity

In recent weeks, I’ve been trimming the time I spend prepping for our weekly market flower shop. It’s made me take a forensic look at every step—from deciding what’s on sale to packing up the stall at the end of the day.

It’s been revealing. Time, energy, mental load—all wrapped up in small, repeated actions I wasn’t questioning.

That’s when I started applying something simple, but transformative: The One-Touch Rule.

It helped me uncover hidden inefficiencies—and reclaim hours I knew I was losing.

The hidden cost of ‘multiple touches’

In lean thinking, there’s a concept called handling waste—unnecessary movement of materials or decisions that doesn’t add value.

Every time you:

• Pick something up and put it down again

• Move flowers from one bucket to another

• Search for the snips you just had

• Revisit a customer decision or price

• Type out the same answer for the tenth time

…you’re creating waste.

It’s friction in your flow—and it costs you more than time. It drains focus and energy too.

What is the one-touch rule?

The one-touch rule is simple: handle things as few times as possible.

It’s not about rushing or cutting corners. It’s about designing systems so each touch moves something closer to completion—not just shuffling it around again.

Let’s break that down in practice for selling flowers at the market.

One-touch for flowers

The typical process goes like this:

• Cut flowers in the field

• Move them to buckets

• Carry them to field transport

• Process the flowers at the shed

• Arrange buckets for conditioning

• Pull them out to bunch

• Set up flowers into display buckets

That's seven touches minimum, before a single flower is sold.

The one-touch alternative:

• Cut, strip, and count as you harvest

• Place directly into sorted buckets (bunching/display)

• Load in display order

• Set buckets directly onto the stall. 

Same flowers, same result—half the handling, half the time, and way less mental overhead.

Flow isn’t about speed. It’s about reducing blockages, resistance and loops.

One-touch for tools

This is where most of us slip up.

You use your snips, set them down “for a second”, move on… then walk back 10 minutes later to find them.

Or you start wrapping bouquets—only to realise the paper’s across the room, the twine’s missing, and the tape’s under something else.

The one-touch fix:

• Use tools, then return them immediately to a designated spot

• Or keep them on your person (belt, pocket) until the job’s done

• No “temporary spots,” no “I’ll deal with it later” piles

Systems that support this:

• Tool stations in each zone (not one central shed)

• Consistent, automatic return spots (hooks, trays, baskets)

• Duplicate tools in high-use areas

The cost of a second toolkit  is far less than the cost of searching, fetching and carrying.

One-touch for decisions

This is where the biggest gains happen—mentally and emotionally.

Multi-touch decisions example:

• Customer asks about availability

• You say you'll check and get back to them

• You check flower supply later

• You draft a response

• You reconsider the price

• You finally reply

Six steps. For one decision.

One-touch approach:

• You check your system (availability calendar or notes)

• Respond immediately with availability and price

• Done.

To make this work:

• Have real-time access to your flower availability

• Trust your own pricing (and stop second-guessing)

• Use standard templates for common replies

One-touch decisions aren’t about speed—they’re about flow with confidence.

One-touch for information

If you’re repeating the same answer over and over, you’re not being helpful—you’re burning out.

Instead:

• Create a central answer (FAQ on your website, pinned post, automated email)

• Direct customers there

• Update once, not every time

This isn’t impersonal—it’s smart. It frees you up for actual customer care where it counts.

When one-touch doesn’t apply

The rule isn’t rigid. Sometimes multiple touches are necessary—and valuable:

• Special flower varieties that need conditioning

• Quality checks before delivery

• Safety or sustainability steps that add time but matter

Ask: “Am I handling this more than necessary—or for a good reason?”

How to apply the one-touch rule

Want to put this into action? Start by observing:

1. Track your movements for a day -  Notice how many times you handle the same item or decision.

2. Find the “temporary spots. - Wherever you say “just for now”—that’s your problem area.

3. Identify repeated decisions -  If you’re reconsidering the same choice over and over, systematise it.

Note frequently asked questions - Could the answer live somewhere customers can find it themselves?

The shift to flow

The one-touch approach isn’t just about working faster, it’s about working leaner. 

hen your flowers, tools, decisions, and information move smoothly—without loops, bottlenecks, or chaos—you gain:

• Time

• Clarity

• Energy

• Space

After just three weeks of adjusting my market prep with the one-touch rule, I’ve gained over three hours of time per week—and lost a huge amount of frustration.

Ask yourself:

“Am I handling this more than necessary?”

If the answer is yes—there’s probably a system, template, or tool that can help.

Written by: Julie Treanor - Owner of The Pickery and co-creator of The Floral Business Activator.  A seasonal flower grower who learned that every extra touch costs time she'd rather spend growing flowers.

Follow Julie on Instagram @thepickery