Currently, when I start up in the mornings, my browser is set to go to my Gmail account.

I don’t really have a good reason for that, but when I installed Chrome, it seemed as good a place as any to start the day.

From there, I can see the notifications from SME, facebook, G+, and go to those pages via the links in the emails.

However, I’ve noticed that by starting my day in Gmail, I tend to spend more time than what is productive looking at emails early in the morning.

So I’m wondering, where do you guys and gals start your day?

Is it a news page, your company page, facebook, SME or some other destination?

Haha, that’s funny because I’m struggling with exactly the same issue. First thing in the morning I open my e-mail account and start checking all my newsletters and forum notifications. Second, I open my Facebook account to see what’s going on there (my newsfeed and my biz pages).

And, oops, suddenly, two hours of my day already disappeared!

I’m trying hard to change my routine to first deal with the painful work tasks and only then read newsletters and similar. So far I’m not very successful, I have to admit

First of all I rarely shut down my computer.  That said, one of my first things is email on the iMAC.  One of the most important things is to put my newly acquired used equipment out on the internet. Then from there is could be anything from Facebook, updating the website or creating an advertisement.  This morning I had to listen to a new radio ad and approve it.

My IE and Firefox open with Google.  My Safari on the iMAC opens to Apple.com.  Never changed that one.  I use IE to access John Deere and other databases; Firefox (my favorite) to dowload youtube videos; and the iMAC Safari for SME, Facebook, Twitter and other things.  I search on either computer depending on what I do.  Dreamweaver (website) is on the iMAC as well as Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator.  My Video software is on the PC.  We have a Public server where I pass data, etc. back and forth between the two computers (Dropbox is still not working on the iMAC).

This is such a good thread, and I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who struggles with staying on task in the midst of multiple opportunities to fall down the rabbit hole of other online activities!

A few months ago I tried to get in the habit of checking my email just twice during the regular work day, in order to limit distractions — once before noon, then again before 5:00 pm. That worked for a few days. But then I went back to the bad habit of getting distracted by email and all the paths it leads down.  ; )

Now my habit is to check my personal email on my cell phone before I log onto my computer.  From there I can see if anything needs to be dealt with right away, and that’s usually not the case, so then I turn on the computer and get right.to.work.  Without my email open.  At all.  I get so much more work done that way. 

The other thing that has been working really well for me is scheduling out my day — simple but effective.  Of course I have my task list for the day, but I’ll actually go a step further and write out a sked: “8:00-9:00 am, personal email, 10:00-noon, write client article, noon-2:00, social media activity for clients,” and so on. I think it works so well because if I give myself one hour to goof off on my personal email, that’s all the time I’ll allow myself to do it, that one hour and no more, and more importantly, I don’t feel “deprived.”  : )  Works for me!

The first thing I see every morning is the Daily Affirmation from Wayne Dyer – it reminds me that “staying on track” doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with emails, schedules, updates, and the like

Then, straight to email!

(http://www.drwaynedyer.com/daily-inspiration)

Like many here, I check email first.  Then I leave that page open, open a new tab for Linkedin and another for my business Facebook page.  I tend to keep all 3 open during the work day, then I start on any new or existing work I may have.  Periodically I check all open pages, getting new work or responding to posts/emails as needed.  I have then scheduled early afternoon to post on my Facebook page and to the groups I am in on Linkedin, Social Media Examiner, etc!  As I am typing this I find it a little crazy (and many days it can be!), but it seems it is the only way I can keep up with it all while really trying to stay current and maintaining my fledgling Social Media presence!  Kudos to all of you for prioritizing and keeping up with it all!  I admire you all!

great topic, Warren, with great response… email is just other people’s agendas for your life! (Brendon Burchard) so I try to not open my computer until my day has really started with quiet study time and thinking/writing… THEN the flood gates open and even now I have 15 tabs open!!!! Standard ones are email, fb, and sme , which are always open.  @warrenveach

I too use my cell phone to check my email! It’s the fastest way to do it because I’m only looking for “emergent” items that require my attention first thing!  My “home” page is my calendar.  I look to see what’s scheduled for the day and move on from there. I have a side business that requires that I cut and paste and ad every day, so I get that out of the way as my very first thing.
I appreciate all the tips here.  One of my goals is to learn more about RSS feeds and how to be more efficient at finding information for my clients. I’m so grateful to have a place that deals with the mechanics of social media online.  In person, I’m an expert… not transitioning to cyberspace.

To answer your question @amyhallbiz, There’s just something about actually writing down the 1-2 hour blocks of time and the tasks I plan to accomplish in that time that keeps me on track.  That said, I don’t always end my scheduled blocks of time having completed everything I’d like to!  That’s because I sometimes overestimate how much I can get done in 2 hours.  ; )  

@kimberlyhouston  I’ve done the 2 hour block of time planning, I even have it color coordinated. But it doesn’t work so well for me.

I have my tabs set up so I can click through what I need throughout the day.

• I always start by checking Gmail. It’s my first tab. I only check certain folders at the start of the day, avoiding non-critical emails that might tempt me to waste time.
• Google calendar so I can assess what I need to complete today and for the rest of the week.
• Hootsuite so I can check for any conversations directed at me that need a response. I almost never post first thing in the morning but I do comment and reply.
• Blog control panel so I can respond to any overnight posts from my contact form and comments on posts.

 Offline- Prayer and Reading Word of God, so he can direct my steps. Online:First is Google, but I open up an application on my computer that gives me all my choices just like an IPAD does, can’t remember the plug in for Google but it is awesome. Normally I go to email, check it to see if there are any orders, then go to G+ – post a few things, share a few things, see who is in my new circle and thank them for the circle. Then I go to my calendar on Google to see what is planned for the day. Make notes and then go to Facebook from Google and then post there a few things and share a few things. I then go into my day. I usally will tweet or go to Linked in when I see something that came in the email I need to address, but lately I have stuck to Google because my documents are there and all the information I need is just a click away including my phone numbers and people to call. I do follow up mid day with email again- then I usually have a work load of doing some video email for potential clients or have meetings scheduled in my video conference room. 

I have recently started using lastpass as all the passwords I had to remember was becoming unmanageable. I have my home page set to google, but log straight into lastpass and from there have all my pages available to me including backends of sites I manage etc.

I always start with Google Reader. I’ve put together a number of important news feeds, but also include the rss feeds for Facebook comments on pages I administer, some Twitter searches, and so on. It’s a great – free! – dashboard that you can use to get a snapshot of what has happened online since you were last there.