• Turning off email notification
• Not opening your email first thing in the morning—do something productive first. Return phone calls make your to-do list for the day, etc.
• Limiting the amount of time you spend on email
• Keeping IM clients open for the people colleagues you want/need to talk to
• Telling your friends to email you only if important
• Calling someone after the email has more than three messages in it
• Asking colleagues and peers to use descriptive subject lines
• Explain that you're likely to ignore 500+ word messages
• Worrying less about the whole situation

Of course, I understand that agents—especially those receiving leads via email—don't always have the luxury of employing some of these tips. If you buy leads from a vendor like InsureMe, look into other ways of receiving your leads. At InsureMe, we allow agents to receive leads in a variety of ways, including via their PDA or handheld.

We've also developed the Agent Connection, which is separate web/desktop application that interfaces with your account to notify you when you've received new leads. This way, you receive your leads all in one place rather than having to dig through and be distracted by your email.

You may also want to set up notifications in your email client to help you stay organized and inform senders that you won't be answering email right away. Ochman does exactly that, sending an auto-reply message that says:

Dear colleagues & friends: I am checking email only a couple of times a day because I am overwhelmed by the more than 700 emails I have been getting daily for the last several months. I simply cannot believe they are all necessary.

So, if something is pressing, please call me, or IM me.

If you send email, please understand that I may be back to you in hours rather than minutes.
Thank you!
B.L.

Minimize the email insanity! Pick a few of these tips to help you pare down the time you spend readying, replying and sighing heavily.