In today’s world, we’re constantly sabotaged by nonproductive energy wasters. There are emails to read. Facebook statuses to update. Receipts to locate for that already-late expense report. Dishes to be washed. Files to be organized. And on, and on, and on. These are the easy, albeit often unproductive, tasks that make us feel good. They may not get you any closer to accomplishing your greater goals, but at least you’ve checked a couple of things off your to-do list.

Unfortunately, says Vickie Milazzo, this addiction comes at a high price, because that cheap check-mark high is guaranteed to frustrate, overwhelm, and stress you out in the long term. You feel busier than ever but are accomplishing less of real value.

“I too am a happy checker-offer,” says Milazzo, author of Wicked Success Is Inside Every Woman. “Working for two hours on a huge project I won’t finish doesn’t release the same amount of endorphins as cleaning out my inbox. After two hours or so, I want to check something off my list. That’s when I indulge my own feel-good addiction and attack the stack of bills, plow into the financials, or grab my mouse to viciously click through my email.”

Are these feel-good tasks the best use of our time? No, says Milazzo, and they often snowball until an entire workday is behind you. One email leads to two. After all, it only takes two minutes to fire off an email. Then there are calls to be returned. Two minutes turns into 20 as one item leads to another. Even if you set them aside once you put your attention to them, these small tasks buzz around in your head and have the potential to distract you for hours. Before you know it, quitting time arrives and you haven’t accomplished a single step toward your most important goals.

“Maybe it’s the curse of the modern world, but often, our important tasks fall prey to the feel-good addictions of easy ones,” says Milazzo. “By majoring in minor things, we never get to our big commitments. Breaking these addictions opens the door to achievement. What you engage and focus on is where you will yield results.

“Going after larger accomplishments—an addiction to momentum—is a far more lasting high than the transitory feel-good of checking off trivial tasks. Once you’re engaged in accomplishing what I call the ‘Big Things,’ you’ll approach routine matters with laser-sharp focus, quickly deleting, delegating, and experiencing fewer distractions. More important, your creativity and productivity catch fire, and the momentum keeps you pumped. You’ll glide through your day full of confidence and satisfaction from achieving significant milestones.”

Here are eight tips to help you stop doing what feels good and start doing what matters:

Define Three Big Things.
Identify three big things that connect to your passionate vision, then choose one to schedule your day around. For example, your big things might be to get promoted, live by the ocean, or achieve financial security. So today you might agree to take on a high-profile work project in order to put you in the running for that promotion. Or you might start the search for your beachfront property. Or maybe you’ll develop a household budget. “Set a target date for each of your big things,” says Milazzo. “And begin working steadily toward achieving each of them. Start strong and you’ll experience genuine elation from achieving real goals and solving real problems.”

Challenge Your Plan of Action.
Often, we take a tiny step toward achieving a big thing to save us from having to make a big commitment and to ward off feeling guilty about not going after our passions. For example, flipping through a magazine on beach properties might make you feel better, but it isn’t really helping you toward achieving your goal. “Constantly ask yourself, ‘Am I really going for my goal all the way? Or if it’s too tough, will I quit?’” advises Milazzo. “Make sure your plan of action is doable. Assess each step when you are taking it and make sure it’s the right thing for you to be engaged in at that time.”

Turn Off Cyberspace.
There’s no greater blow to productivity than breaking your concentration to reply to an email as soon as it hits your inbox. Remember, no award will be handed out at the end of the day for the person who responded to the most emails the fastest. If you’re doing nothing but responding to email, you’re bouncing around like a pinball. It’s also important to keep in mind that the purpose of email is not to generate more email. Unless a response is necessary in order for the sender to move ahead on a task or project, it’s okay to let them have the last word.

Turn off the TV.
Every hour you sit in front of the TV you’re accomplishing nothing. Every second of that time is irretrievably lost. If you’re struggling to let go of this feel-good addiction, start by turning your TV off one day or one hour a week. Instead, spend that time working on your big thing.

“If you dare to fully realize the phenomenal power of TV-banishment, take a week off from watching,” suggests Milazzo. “You might already be gasping from withdrawal pains, but I guarantee you that if you do, you’ll be taking back a significant amount of your time and making something wickedly powerful happen. You’ll never again find yourself saying, ‘I’m too busy to…’”

Tame the social media beast.
Social media can be just as time consuming as watching TV. It’s fun to read the details of friends’, family’s, and clients’ lives and to see the photos they’ve posted on Facebook. It makes us feel good when they “like” something we’ve posted or when we’re tagged in one of their photos. That’s one reason social media is so addicting—it’s like experiencing human hugs all day long. Now that you understand why you like it, it’s time to tame the beast.

Set Aside Sacred “Momentum Time.”
Momentum time is the only way you can stop being a slave to petty distractions. It’s the precious time you are able to set aside for yourself each day to work uninterrupted toward achieving one of your big things. To carve out time, examine every activity and decide how to eliminate it, delegate it, hire it out, or do it faster.

“If part of your day is rarely interrupted (such as early morning or late evening), reserve it for momentum time. Keep your momentum time sacred. Use phrases such as, ‘I’ll be available in one hour. What time after that works best?’ Start your day with a two-hour uninterrupted chunk, then gradually add more two-hour momentum sessions each day. Claim your momentum time and you’ll find those lost hours you’ve been looking for.”

Safeguard Your Momentum.
Accept that you won’t please everyone. Someone is bound to be unhappy about the changes you make to focus on your big things. A friend might get upset because you can no longer meet for lunch on Wednesdays. Your spouse might complain because you won’t run errands on a weekday. “Bottom line, they’ll get over it,” says Milazzo. “Stop feeling guilty and stay true to your goals. Surround yourself with friends, family, and peers who support your vision. Discard all discouraging messages. These are your passions and goals, not anyone else’s.”

Alternate Momentum Time with “Weed Pulling.”
Miscellaneous routine tasks are like weeds in your garden: we all have them and no matter how often we get rid of them, they never go away. Yet they do have to be handled, and pulling a few weeds can provide a restorative break from more intensive work. Separate tasks into two categories—“Big Things” and “Weeds.” After each momentum session, devote 15-30 minutes to weed pulling—handling email, phone calls, and other minor tasks.

Vickie Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD, is author of Wicked Success Is Inside Every Woman (Wiley, 2011, WickedSuccess.com). From a shotgun house in New Orleans to owner of a $16-million business and Wall Street Journal best-selling author, Milazzo shares the innovative success strategies that earned her a place on the Inc. list of Top 10 Entrepreneurs and Inc. Top 5000 Fastest-Growing Companies in America.