... to read and respond to email. Don’t leave your email program open all day long. Alerts from incoming messages can interrupt your work flow. Instead, schedule specific blocks of time throughout the day for checking your email. You might even try marking your calendar and setting your availability to “busy.” If necessary, turn off your cellphone and shut your office door to prevent interruptions.

Set aside time 

Email is an extremely useful communication tool. But when used inappropriately, email can hinder productivity.
More than one-quarter of a worker's day on average is spent answering and reading emails - email is the second-most time-consuming activity for workers, next to "role-specific tasks."

Email and productivity

<ul>
<li>Prioritize, group, sort and file messages to keep your inbox organized. Create parent categories for broad subjects such as the following: clients, projects and finances.</li>
<li>Use subcategories to file emails related to specific clients or projects. Before you file a message, ensure the subject line is search-friendly. If it doesn’t accurately describe the content of the email, edit the subject line before it’s categorized and archived.</li>
</ul>

Labels, folders and categories

Newsletters and advertisements can overwhelm your inbox and bury important messages. Clean out the clutter.
Unsubscribe from receiving messages from specific senders if you no longer want to receive their missives or don't have the time to read them.

Unsubscribe from unwanted promotional emails

<ul><li>browse the inbox for emails that can be immediately deleted (spam or promotional emails). Then select messages that don’t require a response and delete or archive them. </li><li>Don’t let important emails sit in your inbox for days. Unless you’re on vacation, respond within 48 hours. Reply to the sender as soon as you’ve read his or her message.</li><li>If you’re unable to respond immediately, communicate to the sender that you received the message and will be in touch shortly. Set a deadline and follow up.</li></ul>

Take action immediately

Easy to implement strategies to better manage your email and keep messages in your inbox to a minimum.

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Books

productivity

Productivity

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Communication

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Personal Development

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Time Management

Managing Email Effectively

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Email is an extremely useful communication tool in business. Less intrusive than a phone call, email is convenient and fast. It empowers entrepreneurs to run their businesses from just about anywhere.