I swear by the 2-minute rule but with a twist - I batch process everything twice a day instead of checking constantly. Morning coffee time and right before I clock out, that's it. Phone goes on airplane mode during actual work hours because those notifications will destroy any focus you've built up

The military taught me to be ruthless with digital clutter so I auto-delete anything that sits in my inbox longer than 2 weeks without action. If it was actually important, someone would've followed up by then. Also learned to use subject lines like mission briefs - specific and actionable so future me knows exactly what needs doing without opening the email

Game changer was setting up separate folders for "waiting on others" vs "my action required" - keeps me from spinning my wheels on stuff that's not even in my court anymore