ZenHabits has a great post about 20 Strategies to Defeat the Urge to Do Useless Tasks. You know most of them but this compilation is a terrific reminder.

The key and first on the list is to know what’s important. Then all we need to do is to focus on that. But since that often is easier said than done there are 19 other strategies to help us.

It is about changing habits, getting rid of time-wasters (like do not check email all the time) and getting rid of distractions. The tough part is changing habits but we benefit a lot when we get better at doing what really matters.

See also: Zen To Done