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A normal workday for me usually goes something like this:


Daughter wakes me up. I turn on the Disney Channel and bring daughter juice. I turn on my computer. I check email.


Next thing I know it's 8:15 and I'm rushing to make and eat breakfast and get us dressed and out the door before 8:45. I return from the preschool drop off with a latte in hand. I check email and surf the web as my "warm up to face the day." Then I tackle the to-do list, all the while taking breaks to check email, do social networking, Twitter, and so on.


I officially end the workday around 5, pick up the kidlet, and come home and make dinner. I check email as I cook and supervise my daughter. The rest of the evening usually involves her asking me to play, and me saying, "Just a minute," as I respond to more emails. After I put her to bed, I'm back on the computer.


I spend about 10 minutes of quality time with my husband, and then we both go to bed.


This typical workday seemed perfectly normal to me. I mean, yes, I knew I was a wee bit attached to email, but I also knew parents who were much, much worse. At least I didn't check email while I was reading bedtime stories. At least I didn't do it while my daughter was in the bathtub. I could live without it. I could.


I also thought that my email checking served many important functions. In the morning, for instance, it was my warm up. Every writer needs a warm up. Some writers warm up with a shower. Some do it by taking a walk. I do it by dosing myself with caffeine while I read email. Whatever works, right?


Well, that's what I thought until I read Leo Babauta's The Power of Less. I read it during my vacation. In case you don't remember from my previous blog, I started my vacation feeling burned out, fatigued, and sick. I wasn't exactly the poster child for the perfect life work balance, which is why I'd bought his book in the first place.


Leo challenged me to do something that I, at first, thought was ludicrous. It was this: don't check email in the morning. In fact, Leo wanted me to keep my email turned off for most of the day. Yeah, you read that right---most of the day. He challenged me to stay off email until I finished working on my top three priorities. He claimed that email was a distraction. He claimed that it was a waste of time---time that I could be spending doing high priority tasks that helped me accomplish my goals.


I almost stopped reading the book and donated it to my local library right then and there, but something enticed me to keep reading and, as I kept reading, Leo eventually convinced me to give his work method a try.


Let me not mislead you. I did not believe1) it would work 2) that I would be able to break my addiction to email. I agreed to the No Email In the Morning advice because I thought the effort could eventually turn into an interesting blog, and I'm always searching for something interesting to blog about.


So last Friday morning, I woke up and I muttered to myself, "No email. No email. No email." I thought of myself as the little writer that could not check email. I could not. I could not. I could not.


I made and ate breakfast. I washed my face, took my supplements, and got dressed. It was only 7:15 a.m. and I wasn't checking email. So I did some stretching. When I was done stretching, I still had some extra time, so I straightened the house a bit. I snuggled with my daughter, too.


Then I took her to school.


When I arrived home with the latte, the urge to check email was strong. "What if someone really needs something?" I wondered.


"Well, that someone can wait. No one needs an instantaneous response. You have other priorities right now."


That voice came from within my own head, but it was so foreign to me that it sounded like the voice of God, the voice of the universe, the voice of Leo.


I listened to the voice within me. I did not check email.


For 2 ½ hours I went to work on priority #1: finishing a chapter for a heart book. Then I posted to my blog (priority #2). Then I posted to Capessa.com (priority #3).


Then I checked email. I was surprised to learn that the Internet had survived for a few hours without my presence.  I also realized that I could quickly delete the vast majority of emails in my inbox. Some others I just flagged for later.


I ended my day around 4 p.m. feeling as if I'd accomplished at least two days of work, but had the energy of someone who'd sat in a beach chair all day long.


Then, around 5, I did the unthinkable. I turned off my computer.


Yeah, you read that right.


I spent the evening with my husband. It was date night, and it was a really good one.


"Wow, this isn't bad," I said. "I think I'll try this again Monday."


And I did.


And I did it on Tuesday and Wednesday, too.


It's been a week since I've put the Power of Less to work in my life. I can't say that I haven't had a few setbacks. A couple times I cheated and checked email via my iPhone. Oops.


This morning I opened one email to get a phone number. I could not resist the urge to read other emails while I was there. Oops.


Hey: I'm only human. Overall, though, I've realized:

• When I check email less (which includes less Twittering, less Facebooking, and less social networking), I have more energy and get more done.

• The vast majority of people don't seem to notice that I'm not online as much. No one has emailed me to complain.

• When I put just three things on my to-do list (instead of 30), I feel more productive because I'm much more likely to get three things done in a day than I am to get 30 things done.

• There is no task that cannot wait until tomorrow. There are many tasks that don't have to be done at all.

• If someone else has an emergency and I am not available to deal with it, that someone else will usually find a way to fix the problem without my help and, if not, that someone will be willing to wait for me to do it when I am ready.

• When I do just one thing at a time, I'm a lot happier. For instance, I'm enjoying time with my daughter a lot more now that I'm not double tasking parenting with emailing.

• I feel more in control of my day, my workload, and my destiny. Each day, at least one of my priorities gets me one step closer to my goal.

How long can you go without checking email? Do you accomplish at least one task each day that helps you get a step closer to your dreams? Do you choose your priorities, or do you let others choose them for you? Leave a comment.

Alisa Bowman is a recovering divorce daydreamer who blogs about the ups and downs of marriage and life in general at Project Happily Ever After. If you liked this blog, she thinks you'll love her How to Be Happy series. Drop in and leave a comment. You can also follow her on Twitter @alisabow.