Listen people, I get a lot of email too. Probably something like 500 missives per day. But this really isn't that difficult to fend off. Let me help... Tactic #1: Delete unnecessary items as they come in. Tactic #2: Reply to items when you have free time in elevators, meetings, subways, etc. Tactic #3: Don't leave work until you're down to five items. Tactic #4: Stop writing about how much email you get. Done.
I employ the zero inbox rule, and lately it's been a little difficult in my personal email, but professionally it's not that difficult.
In case the whole "delete stuff you don't want when you get it" idea needs more than a pull-quote's explanation, here's a PDF i saw way too long ago about pwn1ng your email.
posted by Randall at 2:41 PM on April 20, 2008 
500 emails a day? really? non-spam emails? What do you do for a job?
posted by fredo at 4:22 PM on April 20, 2008
also, deleting 'unnecessary' items seems a bit harsh. why not just ignore them and use flags to indicate which emails you should reply to?
posted by fredo at 4:40 PM on April 20, 2008
Nope. Delete, delete, delete.
posted by Rex at 4:50 PM on April 20, 2008
Fredo, deleting "unnecessary" emails seems harsh? It's an email. It doesn't have feelings, it doesn't hurt when it gets deleted. ;)
I have a number of emails that would fall into that category: thank you emails, listservs I don't have time to read, emails I am cc'd on by my staff to "keep me in the loop". I LOVE deleting them. I'm like a pgi in sh*T when I can walk into my office on Monday morning knowing that I cleaned out my inbox the night before.
posted by Alison Byrne Fields at 5:57 PM on April 20, 2008
I wake up in the morning, roll over, and start deleting emails. (There are girls who will verify this!)
posted by Rex at 6:07 PM on April 20, 2008
I consider myself fortunate then to have ever received a response
posted by MeJayne at 8:03 PM on April 20, 2008
The word I've heard for excessive bitching about too much email is "Spamtrum."
posted by Kurtis at 2:02 PM on April 21, 2008
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