How to tame the e-mail monster

E-MAIL, a blessing or curse? E-mail is one of the world's top communication tools. It is also our No. 1 annoyance.

Hoala Greevy, the creator of Hawaii-based PauSpam.com, reports that an average of 80 percent of all the e-mail we receive is either spam or viruses. What an incredible waste of time! Think how much more efficient we would be without the distraction of junk, spam, or advertising e-mails. Actually, e-mail that we do need to read is a distraction, too, and can become a virus in and of itself.

You can avoid these distractions by implementing a policy we've developed as to how to check e-mail. My coaching clients are gaining up to a full workday in free time by implementing this system which you can model to work best for you to maximize your time. But, be forewarned. This method challenges the e-mail addict.

First, check e-mail no more than three times a day, and do this at set times in your day.

When a new e-mail message comes through, don't stop what you're doing to attend to it. If you are guilty of checking your e-mail as soon as you hear the sound announcing that you have a new e-mail, you are not alone. It's almost like a trigger that reminds your brain, "Oh, a new e-mail just came in. I'd better check it. It could be important." Stop the temptation by turning off the e-mail announcement sound on your computer.

Install some type of spam-filtering software to combat that evil spam creature.

The next thing you want to do is to organize all your incoming e-mail.

» Folder No. 1: This is for clients. Your clients come first. They're the reason you're in business, and why they're in Folder No. 1.

» Folder No. 2 is for my partner's e-mail. Often, he asks questions that need to be acted on immediately. It could be about a client or a strategy that he wants support on. Other times, he's following up on e-mails that I have sent him. If you have a partner, or do business with someone in a strategic-partner manner, or with someone at that level whose e-mail needs to be responded to as soon as it comes in or within several hours, their e-mail would go in Folder No. 2.

» Folder No. 3: This is a low priority, read-later folder. Newsletters and e-zines that I subscribe to go into this folder. It's organized based on the particular title of the newsletter. This lets me get caught up with cutting-edge trends on my own time, without distracting me the minute it comes in.