Ease into your Morning: I’ve found the best way to start my day with balance, is by staying away from the Internet for the first hour. I get to work and I do check my work e-mail—for assignments. (I think there’s a world of difference between work e-mail and personal e-mail). I then choose a task that doesn’t require me to go online. I make my morning cup of tea, and I work. I have my notebook next to me to write down any inspirational thoughts or things that I’ll want to do when I do go online. At 10 o’clock—after an hour of quiet—I then check my personal e-mail and skim the NY Times headlines. I find I have much more control over my day when I don’t rush right onto the Internet. On the weekends, I wake up and go for a walk, write a letter, or I read for at least the first hour of my day. Last Saturday I headed right out the door to see a Picasso exhibit at the Philly Art Museum, and then I headed to the park for soaking in the sun and conversing with my cousin Kate. I didn’t do anything Internet related until the very end of the day. It was marvelous.

Samara O’Shea is an author and professional letter writer. Visit her at LetterLover.net and follow her on Twitter.