As an internet entrepreneur we constantly face new challenges each and everyday.

Google changing their algorithms… fighting to stay focused on our goals… or some other challenge in front of us…

With this in mind, despite all the challenges we face daily, there is perhaps no bigger distraction or production time stealer than that of email.

Yup… You read that right. Email!

Email is the number one distraction for most internet marketers today. We have alerts going off in the background while trying to get something done.

Everybody is looking to get our attention. However, even though there is nothing wrong with getting email, it can severely hamper your business productivity if you don’t get it under control.

Without having your email under control you can get to the end of the day and realize that you haven’t gotten a thing done in your business.

With every alert you get, that is a temptation to go and check your email!

I just read a recent article that said with every distraction you have during production time, it can take several minutes to get your mind back on track. If for every 1 minute you spend checking emails, takes you 2 to get refocused on what you should be doing, you have just wasted 3 minutes.

Think about this for a minute, how often have you been trying to accomplish something, and you get an email alert? What do you do?

As soon as you get that alert your off to go check it. After you read it, you read another and another, and soon you find you have wasted 10-15 minutes.

Now it will take you time to get back into your groove and get going again. Once you get going in your groove… BAM… another alert!

This really is a vicious cycle that most get lured into every day, including myself at times. Before you know it, you have wasted several hours a day checking email.

Now I don’t know about you, but I have had that feeling at the end of the day that I didn’t accomplish anything and was all over the place. Email is usually the culprit.

Now there are some emails that we do need to be alerted to very fast. This is the beauty of a system like ViralinBox, as it lets you sort and be notified of only the emails that are essential to read right away.

So what I want to do is give you some tips on how you can be more productive in your business day in, and day out specifically with email.

Set specific times during the day to check email. – This is very critical to your success. Each and every day online there is a war going on for your attention. You have to decide when you will give them that time. Set a schedule for yourself, turn off your email during your productivity times, and avoid any temptations to go check it while working.

If checking email throughout the day is essential for your business, than do it deliberately during down non-production time. – So basically what I am saying here is, maybe you need to be in contact regularly and you need to check email consistently throughout the day. This is still a matter of scheduling the time to do it. You can take 5-10 minutes per hour and still make this happen. I recently started using a free software program called “The cool timer” and it allows you set times and when an alarm will go off. You can go for 45-50 minute bursts of productivity and when the alarm goes off, check your email. This works great, and will increase your overall productivity also. You can find the cool timer by just doing a Google search, and its free.

With each email make a decision what to do with it. – If an email will take less than 2 minutes to respond, do it! If it will take longer than that, move it to the “do-later” folder and get to it later. This is essential also, because when your inbox is all cluttered regularly you will constantly be scatter-brained. Its the equivalent to having a messy desk, just in your email box. In other wards, keep it nice an tidy in your inbox, and you will get more done, with less confusion in your brain.

Keep your email program closed during productive time. – It is essential to your success that you practice this discipline if you want to get control of your success and time. If its essential to respond to emails right away, than only set up those that you need to respond to right away in a special “do-now” box.

Use ViralinBox to get organized with your email. – Ok I know, this is a shameless plug… lol, but I know for me personally, this has been the best tool ever for joining lists and staying organized with those lists. With the ability at the Diamond level membership to have unlimited emails, this tool has proven for me to be essential in my business. You can even benefit from a free account, so I suggest you head on over and get it set up today.

There are many other distractions that are pure time and productions stealers, like the phone, internet surfing, Skype and slew of other things, but getting on top of email is by far the biggest.

If you focus on getting yourself organized and focus on good solid productive time, you will see an increase in your business and your profits.

Remember, you are a business owner, your business will succeed or fail based on your leadership and skills. Your ability to take the initiative will make all the difference in the world, and will contribute greatly to your overall success.

Lack of production is a killer for any business including an internet business. Make the decision today that lack of productivity is done in your business, and you will do something to change it, and it starts with getting your email under control.

To your success,

Mark Harbert
viralurl & Viralinbox Team Member
markharbert.com/