One of the big problems I have is switching "modes" at work. I'm a graduate student, so my work has at least four modes:

1. Teaching. This is a super-extroverted activity; lots of talking, lots of people. Afterwards I am exhausted.
2. One-on-one meetings, like when I hold office hours or when I meet the students I tutor individually.
3. Writing. This is when I'm sitting at the computer with alll my stuff spread out in front of me--books, notes, papers, etc.
4. Reading. This is how I spend most of my time: sitting quietly reading novels or whatnot.

Now, in a given day, I have to do all of these things, often multiple times. So today, for example, I met some tutees in the morning, attended a lecture, read about 100 pages, worked a little on my dissertation, and so on. My problem is that I am _very_ inefficient when I transition from one mode to another. So, after meeting a student this afternoon, I had trouble just sitting down and reading, which is what I have to do next; instead I had to check email, scrwe around on the web, and so on to 'cool off' and clear my head before starting in on my reading work.

Do other people have this problem? What do you do to switch modes more effectively? I'm interested in rituals, patterns you've noticed--anything, really.