Hugs ... I know what you mean. My husband gets so irritated when we're supposed to be watching a movie and I move the mouse as I walk by the computer. I think for me that I equate my email to an answering machine, and not replying promptly is rude when it comes to a message on the answering machine, so I check my email often. (That, and I adore getting comments on my layouts, so I watch for those emails too!!!)
I hope your experiment is a success ... if it doesn't work out, you might want to start out with allowing yourself a bit more time to make it more do-able.
Hugs,
Melinda