distractions, distractions ..

i should stop having my in-box open, while at the office;
it seems that i never get anything done otherwise.

maybe i should start treating email like postal mail, and check it just once (or twice) a day, keep message replies serious and professional, and leave it alone.

* more on this later, but i have actual work to do now.
[added 18 january 2012]

i think most people are driven to check their email or social networks because they are curious: did someone message me?

perhaps it would help to remind myself:

for email: i'm not old enough or important enough yet to warrant too many messages of importance in one day. that said, the answer is almost always no and it's not important anyway, which is a good enough reason that i shouldn't bother ..

.. and get back to work.

for facebook: maybe i should allow myself license and make more creative constraints.  for example, what if I allow myself 10 total minutes of facebook time at the office?

at first it seems like 10 minutes is very little; on the other hand, how long could it take, to log in, check a 1/2 page of updates, and then log out?

that's all that i every really do anyway.

the problem is that once i'm logged in, then i may as well click another link to see if it's interesting. the problem lies in the iteration.

as it happens, my watch has a chronometer, which means that i can actually measure this .. but would it be considered facebookkeeping..? (-: