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"Time is the most valuable coin in your life. You and you alone will determine how that coin will be spent. Be careful that you do not let other people spend it for you."
- Carl Sandburg, poet and author

The number one way that businesses communicate today is by e-mail. In fact, executives spend nearly two hours a day reading and sending e-mail. Without managing your messages properly, they can overwhelm your day and cut your productivity.

Here's a quick formula to take control:

Time It. Set aside specific times during the day to review your e-mail – say, every two or three hours. During those times, you can reply to urgent messages. The rest can wait until the end of the day. Ignore "you've got mail" notices while you're working unless you expect something important.

Trash It. Most e-mail programs have filters for junk mail (or "spam"). Add an address to the junk folder and any messages from there will instantly be placed into the trash folder. Meanwhile, don't reply to advertisers' messages, even if they offer you a means of removing your address from the mailing list. That just flags your address as active and subjects you to more junk mailings.

Split it. Use a filter to separate messages. Business correspondence should be split off from personal e-mail. When you read messages, use the "preview" pane. This lets you review quickly and instantly delete anything you don't need.

"Netiquette"

While we're on the subject of e-mail, don't forget to set up company guidelines for electronic etiquette. E-mail is probably the major way that your employees represent the company. Don't let them get the idea that just because it's fast, it can be informal.

Bad grammar, typos, and a lack of salutations and other forms of politeness are still bad form - online and off. And since messages can be saved and printed, they create a written record of your company.

If you don't have anyone on staff to train your employees in "netiquette," hire a consultant. A half-day class or lunch session is usually enough for the basics.

Don't neglect the issue. E-mail is the communication of choice these days and poor skills can take a major toll on your business.