It is seductive. You get up in the morning, pour yourself a cup of coffee, sit down in front of your computer, and suddenly you are busy.

But what are you busy doing?

Working on your agenda, supporting your goals and objectives, or supporting those of other people?

It's so easy to confuse activity with accomplishment.

Your inbox is a fantastic productivity tool-for other people. It's a way for them to hand off their “to do list”… to you.

This is the reason you can work hard all day, and yet reach the closing bell and wonder, “Why do I feel as though I got nothing done?”.

This is The Inbox Deception.

How do you escape it? Simple. Follow my Three Rules of Email:

Check email last each day. Do not check email first each day. Refer back to rule number one.