If you want to be efficient, do not
open your email until at least 10am. Do not peek. Do not IM. Do not
check Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, or Twitter, or anyplace else on
the web.
Productive people get up and get on with doing the things they have
decided are important. Reacting to someone else is not productive,
nor is it efficient or effective. It is difficult to read an email
without reacting and you are reacting to someone's priority, not
yours.
Next, decide the clock time and a certain amount of action time to
read and react to email. Quickly scan your inbox and prioritize,
file, or delete as necessary. This should take no longer than ten
minutes. Then go back and react to the priority items and attack
them. When one hour has elapsed, go back to your priorities.
You might need to get into your email to finish some of your most
important to-dos, but can you get 80 or 90 percent done before you
go into email and waste your time on other people's priorities
Research shows email: Creates stress, can be more addictive than
alcohol and tobacco, and checking email frequently is the equivalent
of dropping your IQ ten points. It also interrupts your progress. Happiness
is also important, so after you have finished your high priority
projects, reward yourself by reading my Friday Thoughts.