Meet Your First Task BEFORE You Meet Your Email!

OK, so, I have an obsession with organizing books for about the last 10 years and have just finished my thirtieth book.  You can ask my college roommate (Dena – God bless her used to put all my clothes in my closet just so she could not be embarrassed – she just threw them in – WHAT A MESS!) or you could ask my Mom.

I just finished Upgrade Your Life: The Lifehacker Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, Better by Gina Trapani in one evening and learned so much. (Honestly, I'd read Bit Literacy: Productivity in the Age of Information and E-mail Overload by Mark Hurst FIRST and then you'll be ready for Gina's book of tips and tricks.)

I had a lot to do today but have a list of the “hacks” in her book to start with.  I want you to meet what I'm lovingly calling “Tim.”  OK, his real name is F. TIM (First Thing in the Morning) but this handy trick is a winner.  You see, Gina said that a study determined that there are these super-productive technology people and they call them “alpha geeks.”  THey get so much done because of their habits.  And one of the consistent habits is that they DO NOT check email first thing in the morning. That's right – NOT FIRST THING.  Her suggestion was to have a “First Thing in the Morning” folder and have it smack dab in the middle of your desk.  When you finish your day, put the most important thing in that folder and when you get to the office DO THAT FIRST before checking email.

Did you know that it takes 15 minutes to get into a “flow state” of maximum productivity and that if you stay in your email ALL DAY LONG you're constantly a victim of whatever email comes into your box?

I've been at inbox zero now for over a week following the principles I used from Bit Literacy – they are much more simple than anything I have read and resonate with me.  So, now, I have three times during the day to check my email and then I”m focusing on getting other things DONE.  I've always been one to go off-line or unplug when I have work to do.

OK, so Kip and I are going to take his AMAZING KEY LIME PIE out to my parents house now and I've gotta run.  But I'll tell you, this one trick is perhaps the best one I”ve read in a long time.  Onwards and upwards!