 <p>Place an index on the date field, optionaly including the ID field if you need sorting or extra lookup base on the ID field. That is what an INDEX is for, to speed up lookup, sorting etc. Take a look at this article for more explanation: <a href="http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj835095%28v=sql.110%29.aspx" rel="nofollow">SQL Server Index Design Guide</a> (technet.microsoft.com).</p>