Is it normal to have your entire morning wiped out by simply tending to email? It's like someone stopping by your desk to interrupt and chat with you for a few minutes, except it's hundreds of times a day. Unfortunately, to be productive, sometimes you just have to shut the door for a day, sometimes two.
I'm lucky enough to have a great job in skateboading where I can put to use all the skills like programming and accounting that I've somehow managed to accumulate.