Habits to tame your email inbox

Are emails a fabulous communication invention or a useless time waster? Maybe something in between. More than 300 billion email messages are sent each day—and sometimes it might seem like you get all of them. Fortunately, a few habits can tame your inbox and gain you some time back. Control your schedule. One of the easiest habits to implement is to check email less frequently. Very few people need, or even expect, a response in less than an hour. So there is no reason to scan your inbox more often than hourly. Schedule regular times to read and respond to emails, and do not deviate. This change will cut down on the number of interruptions in your day and give you bigger blocks of uninterrupted time. Additionally, turn off notifications and open your email program only during your scheduled email time. This will prevent you from acting on the temptation