(By contrast, negligent emailers frequently find that forgetting to reply ends up saving them time: people find alternative solutions to the problems they were nagging you to solve, or the looming crisis they were emailing about never materializes.)

Respond to emails that require action as quickly as possible, and always within twenty-four hours. Failing to respond to an email — even if your response is “I’ll get back to you tomorrow” — projects the image of a person who is overwhelmed, disorganized, and inefficient.

Set your e-mail preferences not to send your messages immediately. Always give yourself a chance to read it over one more time before you send.