I attended Steve Riley's practice management conference a couple of weeks ago offered by ElderCounsel where attendees explored drains on their productivity, energy, and efficiency. One of the suggestions was to NOT check email first thing in the morning, and to turn off the auto-alert for new emails. What a great idea! Eliminating email first thing has allowed me take control of my schedule rather than having my agenda become dictated by someone else. I now limit email to twice daily, once after lunch, and then at the end of the day. What a difference it has made. Sometimes the best use of technology is to use less technology.