W. Clement Stone, famous author and leader in the human potential field was fond of saying, “Little hinges swing big doors.”

While he isn’t around to ask, my assumption is that the little hinges he’s referring to are our habits, which can either add or hinder our success. In this blog post, I’ll mention one little hinge that seems to be making or breaking many people: email.

When email was new, (I guess I’m dating myself here), my computer was set up so that every time I got a new email, a “ding,” would come from my computer. After a while, I began to feel like Pavlov’s famous dogs in that I would check to see who had sent me an email every time I heard that “ding.”

While I’ve turned off that sound, because I find that noise jarring and detrimental to my productivity, for many of us, the demands that come with emails prove a problem. For example, a friend of mine emailed me recently that she came back from a week’s vacation to find 248 emails in her in box. Responding to them as quickly as she could, by the end of the day she had 254.

Even if you don’t find yourself waist deep in email like my friend did, the following tips will help you tame the email beast.

Tip #1 The night before; ask yourself what must get done the next day for you to consider that day a success. With that in mind, when you get to your computer the next day, take a cursory glance at all your emails. If there’s nothing pressing in your estimation (remember, other people’s emergencies aren’t necessarily yours) then start working on your priority action. After two hours, or when it’s completed, check your email again to see what needs to be addressed immediately.

Tip #2 Let others know through your voice mail or an auto responder how often you check your email and what a typical turnaround time is. This will vary by industry and by job. Whatever your job or industry, it will “train,” those corresponding with you as to what expectations to have about voice or email contact.

Tip#3 Create a category in your emails for those emails that require action that day and another for those that need follow up, either today or in the not too distant future. If you need to, put them on that day’s calendar so that you’re reminded automatically that they need your attention when their deadline is looming.

Tip#4 Keep your word and check your email at the times that you told others that you would.

W. Clement Stone was right, little hinges swing big doors. By taking these steps, you will set expectations you can meet, increase your productivity and tame the email beast. A worthy goal, to say the least in our technological era.