National Law Journal, Do You Control Your e-Mail or Does It Control You?, by Adrian Dayton:

Busy professionals have no trouble coming up with excuses — reasons why they can’t do marketing, don’t have time for business development and can’t write or blog. Perhaps my favorite excuse is, “I don’t even have time to answer all my e-mail–how can I find time to do one more thing?”

I find this excuse humorous because of the extreme urgency it attached to answering every single e-mail. Many professionals have let their e-mail take control of their lives. This is not only irrational; it costs lawyers and their firms money.

Here are some ways to break out of this dilemma.

• Turn off the alerts
• Get your e-mails into folders as soon as possible
• Write shorter e-mails
• Use a task management application

Seinfeld, Master of My Domain