How to make friends with your e-mail inbox

Recently I read about a proposal for eliminating e-mail. After all, e-mail consumes time, adds extra pressure to an already stressful workplace, fragments attention, and feels like a never-ending black hole sometimes. One friend says bluntly, “I hate e-mail.” Some have written about taming the e-mail monster, and others have already abandoned e-mail in favor of texting or other forms of communicating.

But I’m still a fan of e-mail. For all of its downsides, e-mail can also be a fast and convenient way of communicating. When it’s too early or too late to phone my sisters, I can still send them an e-mail with my latest news, and they can read it whenever it works for them. I can read and respond to church and writing e-mails at times that suit my workflow, so I don’t get interrupted during a meal or when I’m needing to concentrate on my sermon or blog post.

So rather than eliminating e-mail, or thinking of e-mail as a monster to be tamed, today I’m sharing my seven ways of making friends with your inbox: