1. Get a good spam filter. Even if it saves you just 10 minutes a day, that adds up to over 59 hours a year. We offer one for just one dollar a day!

2. Cancel subscriptions to unwanted mailing list, and opt-out of legitimate e-zines. But be careful! Trying to opt out of spam emails will only alert the sender that they have a live address. Also, make sure you are careful to check the "unsubscribe" or "opt-out" box when purchasing items online.

3. Ask your friends to remove you from joke groups or chain messages. Simply explain your situation and, if they are good friends, they'll take you of their message group.

4. Don't post or publish your e-mail on websites. Spammers will steal it and put it on their lists.

5. Don't respond to every e-mail you receive. Yes it's okay NOT to respond to some emails. If it's a group email, don't respond with "okay" or ":)" – it's not necessary unless the sender is specifically asking you a question or requesting a response.

6. Be succinct. Restrict your messages to a few sentences. If you can't, pick up the phone or talk in person. This will avoid the back-and-forth of e-mail conversation.

7. Take advantage of subject lines. If possible, put your question in the subject line, or your message. If that' not possible, make your subject line very descriptive so the recipient knows what your message is about. Here's another tip; create a set of codes with your coworkers and place them in the subject line to help them process and prioritize messages. For example, use "FYI" for informational messages. Use "AR" for action required and "URG'" for urgent messages.

8. Block time to answer your email and fight the temptation to check your email every few minutes. You will save yourself a lot of time and be far more productive.

9. Respond to messages when you open them so you only read them once. If the email requires an action step, schedule the action step and delete it from your inbox.

10. Set time aside in the morning and he evening to process your inbox. Shoot for a completely empty inbox. File message you need to keep and set reminders for messages that require you to follow up.