I disagree somewhat. Early on I don't bother with checking it at all. Who wins in the first 5 mins? However, once I manage to build some momentum and the final table's within my grasp, I'll check it.
At that point the little "average" chip stack you can see at your table's no help, and you can be "average" at your table but little compared to other tables. M's not much help at that point either, because you can be nowhere near short stacked, but the race can be so close that M's semi-useless.
So at that point I check the leaderboard. If I'm within the top 5 I don't wig out at all, and keep playing as usual. However if I'm almost dead even with 4-7 other players for 9th or 10th, I'll turn up the heat.
Really that late, the best help has nothing to do with the leaderboard though. It's to simply not touch your mouse or get your stylus near the pad until it's your turn to act, and even then, think before you act.
If you have K-rag for instance, your instinct will tell you to insta-fold. However with the blinds and antes getting so high, you might be better off calling the blinds, or even raising with that K-rag. It depends on the table though. Don't just insta-fold to a raise though. Some players use min-raise at that point to take advantage of sit-outs and knee-jerk insta-fold reactions. Provided you're not in shove or fold mode(see M's still useful, just not for everything you need), there's a good chance you have to see a flop with less than premium starting hands.
Oh and for the love of felt. Please, online with blinds and antes going up every 5 to 10 minutes, unless you're in a satellite that pays the same for several places(up to 100), act in a timely manner. I'm not super-impatient. Take 5-10 seconds on average, 15-20 when precision matters most, and up to the full timebank for tough decisions. But please, for your sake as well as others', don't perpetually use up the time bank. It's only hurting everyone except for the one player with a mountain of chips, when 3 or more people keep using up the time at the table.