Getting your day off to a really good start can certainly lay the groundwork for what in retrospect will be a very good day.

Many people get trapped first thing in the morning by getting bogged down and distracted by e-mails. The inbox can be a good thing and a bad thing and if you find it causes you to be distracted and to be diverted from things that are important then maybe opening e-mail as the first task of the day is not a good idea.

An alternative way to start the day is to spend some time asking yourself this question. “What can I do today it will make the greatest difference to my business or my job?”

You’re probably hired to do things that will improve your organisation and that doesn’t necessarily mean spending hours and hours processing e-mails.

If you start the day with your stress levels low then I’ll probably stay like that for most of the day.

If you’ve never thought of scheduling e-mail to later in the morning or early in the afternoon then may I am courage you to give it a go and see if it does make a difference. E-mail is a good thing but it can also be a nightmare and you don’t want to start your day in that frame of mind.