1. Delete Spam/Trash. This DOES NOT need to sit in your inbox. Report spam as junk mail and unsubscribe from any newsletters you don’t actually read.

2. Review what’s left. Figure out what is urgent, and what can wait. If you have messages that don’t require a response, but that you want to keep, set up folders within your email program and file them. For example, you can create a separate folder for each client, vendor, or coworker.

3. Act on the important stuff. Immediately answer any urgent messages, then delete the email or file it in a folder mentioned above. Leave messages that require more thought, or those that you just want to deal with later, in your in-box as a reminder.