The nature of work today is relentless. You will be interrupted and have problems to solve and issues to react to … once you check your email. It is a place where you can be accessed and sent in many different directions. Undoubtedly, it will cause you to have to shift continually.
Consider a different habit which will help you make forward progress. Before you open that first email, do the one thing that will push your work forward. Things like:
- Writing a book chapter
- Writing a blog post
- Reading
- Thinking
- Planning and creating a checklist of an important project
There are a lot of things we cannot control in the middle of the day. The problems will come. Before they do, work for yourself first and move the ball forward in your life. It will create momentum for the rest of your day as well as keep you from getting stuck in the endless eddy current of pure reaction mode.
What are your thoughts?