Cut the number of new email messages coming in

Try to reduce the number of incoming e-mail messages. Be sure to cancel subscriptions to unwanted mailings. The messages pile up if you don’t have time to read them.
Spam filters reduce the amount of spam in your inbox. But don’t think that it will eliminate spam completely. Some will still get through as email spammers become more creative.
Do your friends send jokes or chain messages? Explain your situation and ask that they stop. Hopefully, they’ll oblige. Sometimes it is easy to give them a ‘JUNK Email’ address to allow you to receive their musings but only review once a month at the alternate location. This separates business from pleasure and increases your work flow.

Respond Accordingly

Not all e-mail requires a response. If you receive an e-mail addressed to several people, you may not need to respond. If a response it required, it may not need to go to everybody – do the others a favor and leave them off the forward or reply if possible.
Be clear and to the point in your email response; restrict your messages to a few sentences. If the e-mail contains different ideas, reply to each concept in separate messages. This may take longer at first; it will be easier to deal with each e-mail thread under complicated business development issues.

Use Subject Lines to Optimize your Out Going Email

E-mail subject lines should correlate to the body of the mail. Be as descriptive as possible. Subject lines that say things like "question" or "hello" should be avoided.

 Recipients won’t know:

1.       What the message is about

2.       How to categorize responses.

If you have a one-line e-mail, put it in the subject line. This will save you and the recipient valuable time.
If possible, create a set of codes with your co-workers. Placed in the subject line, codes help you process and prioritize messages.
For example, use "FYI" for informational messages. Use "AR" for action required and "URG" for urgent messages.
If you have long project names you can abbreviate project name from the beginning and use in the subject line. For example: Helen Pensanti, MD becomes HPMD internally for tracking and working with the client.

Copying and Forwarding Others – Use Common Sense

Be courteous when forwarding an e-mail. Summarize the message and say why you’re forwarding it. This is particularly helpful if the e-mail contains several messages.

Recipients will appreciate your thoughtfulness. They won’t need to read through several messages to guess your thoughts. This will cut down on questions from recipients.

Don’t copy someone on a message unless it is necessary. And explain why you’re copying them. Recipients won’t need to guess your intentions. This means less back and forth messages.

Control Your Temptations to Check E-Mail

Avoid the temptation to check your e-mail every two minutes. Check it every hour on the hour for important messages. If you can go longer, do so. Of course, this might not be feasible in some work environments.
Set time aside each morning and evening to process your inbox. When you’re done, it should be completely empty. File messages you need to keep. Set reminders for messages that require you to follow up.
Respond to messages immediately, so you only read them once. There is an exception to this rule. If emotions might govern your response, give yourself a cooling-down period. We suggest that you write the draft response with your feelings and leave on your desktop. (Do not add the recipients address as it could get accidentally sent.) Come back to the email when your head is clear and remove your emotions.

Take Advantage of Built in E-mail Software Tools

Explore the tools your e-mail program offers by reading the help files. Set follow-up reminders, filters and folders to help file and prioritize e-mail. Auto-responders can alert business associates when you’re out of town. You won’t come back to a full inbox.