You're a slave to your e-mail?

So here's what happens, you wake up and check your e-mail.  You have 50 new messages, 3 of which are relevant, the rest are automated drip campaigns with offers that you think you might want later.  If you are smart, you click spam, but most likely you leave these sitting around for "later."  You could "archive" them if you want to try to outsmart the system. 

Eventually, you are satisfied with that, grab your coffee (get ready) then come back and now you have 10 more messages.  This time 1 of them is extremely relevant the rest is more "drips."  You type out a great response and get ready to start your activities.  Halfway through talking to your best client you hear "DING" and you have a new message.  Since this is the co-op agent on the deal you start to read it, meanwhile your client senses that you are not really listening. 

This happens until lunch time where you check your blackberry constantly like a fidgety little kid trying not to sit still.  After lunch, you talk yourself into "relaxing" for a few minutes checking your e-mail and you pick off the "low hanging" fruit of "availability" emails or seller disclosure requests.  You get a call and take it and are a bit annoyed that someone would call so close to lunch and it's a customer that might need help selling but they may have an agent.  Meanwhile you got another e-mail.  You write down the information so you can look up the address later and put to the side of your desk. 

About 4:30 rolls around and you start to panic.  You haven't done the non-essential items which are now essential and you didn't really make the prospecting efforts that you wanted. You got an hour maybe a little more to make the only absolutely necessary calls, fax the only most important docs and the rest will wait till tomorrow.  However, you did check your e-mail... speaking of which...

After Dinner, you decide what's the harm in knocking out a few e-mails before the morning.  You figure that will help you be more productive fot the next day.

Say what you want about the 4 Hour Work Week, but in the beginning of the book Tim lays out a really effective way of handling your e-mail.  If you are afraid you are going to miss out on opportunities this is understandable.  However, sitting in front of it and letting it distract you with all the bells and whistle and notifications and offers, ect is no way to work or live for that matter.

After Dinner, you decide what's the harm in knocking out a few e-mails before the morning.  You figure that will help you be more productive fot the next day.

So when I say I only want to spend 2 hours.  My goal is to spend 15 to 30 minutes after my most important calls, then 15 minutes or so ever few hours.  I'm then going to spend about 15 to 30 more minutes toward the end of the day wrapping it up.

It tough to turn the e-mail off for a little while but if you try it I'm sure your productivity will go up.