This little rule has saved me so much time and prevented a lot of stress. It is so simple in theory. The hard part, as with anything, is doing it. If you need to know anything about me it is this: I strive to be as lazy, or as some might say "efficient", as possible. I try to get as much stuff done in as little amount of time as possible.
As a rule of thumb, stress = bad. So, the 5 Minute Rule. If you have a task to complete that it totally urgent BUT can be completed in less than five minutes just do it. This can apply to replying to emails, sending messages, putting things in your calendar, printing something off, getting a coffee, etc. That's it. The alternative leads to you forgetting to complete a bunch of little tasks, putting things off until it's too late, and letting those little tasks pile up and seem like they are more than they actually are and creating unnecessary stress. Again, stress = bad. Furthermore, stress that you caused because you let little things pile up even though you could have taken care of them right away and cleared them from your mind forever = worse. These kinds of tasks seem to distract me a lot take me out of what I am working on. For example: if I were to receive an email while I am practicing and it requires my response I feel like I have to reply (if it's quick) so I can stop thinking about it. If I see it but don't reply I will stay in my head and cause more trouble than it is worth. Some perks of the 5 Minute Rule
You can free your mind of small tasks once they are done
You'll save yourself a lot of time at the end of the day
You'll seem more responsible by replying / taking care of things right away
You will save yourself a lot of stress.
You should give it a shot. If it takes less than five minutes, do it right away then forget about it.