Are you drowning in email? If you don't have a plan to manage your email, it can gobble up a large part of your day and create additional work for your colleagues and friends.

This article by Amy Gallo for Harvard Business Review suggests looking at the root causes of the problem and then following a few straightforward rules:

Do:

• Respond quickly and clearly to those who need your attention or input — this will reduce the amount of email you receive
• When you can't reply immediately, file the emails for action later
• Take an email sabbatical on occasion to give yourself a break

Don't:

• Assume that email is the real problem — a clogged inbox might mean you haven't established clear priorities
• Send one-word emails and reply to everyone on a thread — the more email you send the more you will receive
• Think a company-wide policy will solve your email problems — focus on what you can control: your own behavior

To read the entire article, click here.

Ciara Conlon for Lifehack.org suggests these nine habits to help manage your email overload:

1. Write better emails. Get to the point with a concise message.
2. Pick up the phone. Arranging a time and place is much more efficient when you are speaking to someone in person. Also if you send fewer emails, you will logically receive fewer emails.
3. Remove yourself. Remove yourself from email newsletter lists, or use a dedicated email address separate from your work inbox.
4. Chunk it up. Scan your email only at a few specific times during your day. Consider advising people that if they urgently need a reply to something, they should call you instead.
5. Turn it off. Switch off all notifications of emails, on your PC and other devices to avoid distractions.
6. Keep it brief. Keep your messages brief and to the point. Send one email per topic for clarity.
7. Process your email twice a day. After scanning your email, "process" each one by making a decision (such as Do, Delegate, Delete or Defer).
8. Organize your email. The emails you need to keep should be filed in a logical system. Trash any that don’t fall into your categories.
9. Get a life. Remember that your email doesn’t own you. You are the adult and you need to take control.

Click here for the entire article.

Are you ready to reverse the email spiral and spread the word to others? Read the email charter here, put it into practice and share it if you like.