E-mail is a great way to communicate with others, but it can quickly spin out of control if you don’t organize all of your messages.

• Develop a system for reading, responding to and storing e-mail messages electronically. Set up electronic file folders to store e-mail messages worth keeping and label the folders clearly. Treat the electronic folders the same as paper files and regularly purge documents you don’t need again.

• Install a good SPAM filter. When you realize how much time you’re wasting deleting junk e-mails, you’ll be glad you installed a filter.

• Make it easier to know the difference between important e-mails and general e-mails by setting your e-mail to flag messages from clients and other key contacts. You’ll use this feature more as you get more e-mails.

• Avoid the urge to check your e-mail every time you hear or see that someone has sent you a new message. Instead, check your e-mail a few times every hour rather than every few minutes (unless of course you’re waiting for an important e-mail). If you have to check your e-mail every time you hear the alert sound, turn off the alert.

The key advantage to e-mail is the ability to communicate with anyone day and night. But that doesn’t mean you have to.

• Turn off notifications
• Process in chunks
• Unsubscribe

Add an attachment to your e-mail before you write your message. I’ve tried this several times and so far, so good. At least my friends and clients have stopped sending me e-mails—some of them in an annoying tone—asking about attachments I was supposed to include.

Set a timer one to two hours before you need to leave for an appointment. I enter appointments—personal and business—in my iPhone but sometimes I forget to check my schedule first thing in the morning. The timer on my iPhone reminds me to get ready early so I’m not scrambling to leave.

Give yourself a two-day cushion for deadlines. You know that sinking feeling when you realize a deadline is minutes away and you’re not finished with a project? If you plan ahead, you can do a better job of scheduling your time and avoiding missed deadlines. And you can keep your stress level down.

At the beginning of the year, enter birthdays and other special occasions in whatever planning system you use. You’ll be less likely to forget important dates and offend your friends and clients. Have you ever called someone who thanks you for remembering his or her birthday—that’s not why you called because you forgot—then you quickly enter the date in your calendar for next year? I have, but I’m not going to admit which friend I’ve done that to. Several greeting card companies including Blue Mountain offer free, online reminder programs so you can send e-cards at the last minute.

• Try to educate recipients rather than impress them. Instead of using words that no one knows or ever uses, use simple words. Trying to impress someone usually backfires.

• Proofread, check spelling, and then proofread again. One of the best ways to come across as unprofessional is to send e-mails filled with typos. Use your e-mail’s spell check feature but keep in mind that it won’t check for improper word usage (“for” instead of “four” or “to” instead of “too”). Read every e-mail again before you push send.

• Keep your e-mails short and to the point. If you have to send a long e-mail, make it easy to read by using bulleted points, bold type, or italics to emphasize key points. You’ll make it easier for the recipient to find the points that need his or her attention.

• Make it easy for recipients to respond to your e-mail messages. Include your phone number, e-mail address, pager and cell phone number as part of your e-mail signature. Also—and I know it’s common sense—make sure your contact information is correct.

• When dealing with clients, find out whether e-mail is the way they want you to communicate with them. I know it’s hard to believe, but some people rarely check their e-mail and unlike me, they prefer to talk on the phone.

• Limit the number of e-mails you send to a client. Your client may need project updates or other information, but contacting them too often may border on annoying, rather than efficient. It’s important to stay in contact with your clients yet it’s also important to respect their time.