They tell you not to check your e-mail first thing. They’re right. Here’s why:

This morning is pretty typical of my screwed-up morning routine.

I’m on a ship. My routine doesn’t vary very much, regardless of whether I’m in one place or another.

I get up, pee, brush teeth, shave, and shower. (Nope, I don’t head straight to the gym. I hate those people.) Then I eat breakfast, which is usually a bowl of cereal and coffee (more than you needed to know, right?).

Then I start working. Because I’m on the road, I usually work from the apartment, or I walk to a nearby co-working place or Regus. Today, I’m working in the buffet restaurant upstairs on the Emerald Princess as we sail across the Atlantic Ocean from Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale (yeah, obnoxious, I know).

I was doing pretty well this morning. I got up here. Ate my cereal and drank my coffee. I was ready to go within five minutes of sitting down. Laptop open. Earbuds inserted. Sheryl Crow (don’t judge) cranked up.

Then, instead of starting to write this blog post (which was the first thing on my task list), I made the mistake of cranking up this slow-ass shipboard Internet and checking my e-mail.

Within seconds, I was off and running. Opened an e-mail, and it had a link to this cool Indiegogo offering for the “World’s Fastest iPhone, iPad Flash Drive,” and I had to watch the video. Then something blinked, and I was on Twitter. I grabbed myself, forced myself away from Twitter, and ended up back in my e-mail. Just a quick response and then another quick response, and when I refreshed my screen, there was an e-mail from our COO, who’s up early in Greece. Quick response and then, since I was on the Internet anyway, I refreshed the New York Times on my screen.

Now, it’s 30 minutes since I thought I had started, and I’m finally getting to work.

The e-mail was the cheese in the mousetrap. It pulled me in, and the lever snapped. I was hit in the head and knocked unconscious for half an hour.

How to Avoid the Distraction

Sadly, the cheese gets me about half of my days. I’m pathetic. You would think I could avoid the distractions when I’m on a ship communicating via the modern-day equivalent of a paper cup and string.

They’re right, and their advice goes way beyond e-mail. We’ve got to train ourselves to do the important thing first. The other stuff can serve as our reward.

Prioritize something important. Knock it out. Get it done.

Do whatever you have to do to keep yourself from your e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, the New York Times, or whatever you use as your drug of choice.

Get the important thing done, and your day is already a net gain. Letting the distractions creep in threatens you with turning huge potential into a huge waste.

Focus. Focus. Focus. Don’t check your e-mail, and get something done.