• Slow down your e-mail
Set your e-mail program to fetch new messages every 15 minutes or
every hour, rather than every minute, so you are interrupted less
often.
• Create form responses
Any time you find yourself typing substantially similar e-mails,
create a form version and save it for future use.
• Go full-screen
Switch your computer to full-screen mode, filling the whole screen
with your current application, minimising the visual distraction of
other programs.
• Park on a downhill slope
When wrapping up work on a task, make a note of what needs to be done
next. This makes it easier to get started when you resume work on the
task.
• Use a "dash" to beat procrastination
Putting something off? Devote five minutes, measured with a kitchen
timer, to working on it. It will make the task seem more approachable.
• Declare a "vertical day"
Switch off e-mail, mobile phones, everything, and devote yourself to a
single, important project for an entire day.