Every time I get on a computer or turn on my laptop, checking my email is nearly reflex. It's a daily routine that has become as habitual and natural as brushing my teeth or taking a shower. As a matter of fact, in the same way I feel dirty and unsanitary if I ever miss the opportunity to shower or brush my teeth, I feel anxious about not checking my email. I always worried that the one time I forget to check my email before class will be the time the professor emails a last minute homework assignment. For this reason, I check my email once or twice daily. Each time I check it, I read all the messages before replying to any of them. This way I can prioritize which emails are urgent or important and necessitate a prompt response, and can save time to reply to emails from my friends later if need be. I can never start an email and save it as a draft to finish up later; for some reason I insist on finishing an email once I start it, even if it means I have to rush.
I suppose that the strategy I approach email with is much like how I approach my schoolwork or other jobs. Although I always want to respond to my friends' emails first, I force myself to prioritize. This strategy causes me to view email as more of a task than a recreational means of communication, but I know it is the most pragmatic and efficient way for me to operate. By the time I finished sending emails to friends, I would never want to handle other emails that required more effort (use of proper grammar, punctuation, capitalization, etc.). I doubt that my professors would ever receive a response. Overall, I feel that email is a wonderfully efficient way to communicate, but is not the most desirable way to keep up with friends.