Getting a deluge of e-mails even for the pettiest of requests and inquiries can bog your inbox daily, and it’s not a unique situation. Employees spend over 40 percent of their workday on e-mail, a third of which are considered "a waste". Furthermore, companies lose as much as $300 billion a year in lost productivity and profits.

Here are ways to deal with e-mail overload, starting with managing your own inbox.

Send less e-mails – The best way to get less e-mails is to send less e-mails. Cut the number of recipients per mail by putting a stop to the abusive "Reply to All" and "Cc" features.

Write better messages – People do not read e-mails, instead they scan them. This means that e-mails with incomprehensive subject lines and overly wordy messages do not work. Start every message with a specific subject line and a brief greeting. After which, split the body of the e-mail into three sections: "Action" (summary of your purpose); "Background" (presentation of your key points); and "Close" (clarification of next steps).

File and find information faster – Some people tend to have a large number of overlapping e-mail folders. For instance, your "From the Boss" folder could have anything from a performance review to a forwarded joke. You need to file smartly by creating a limited number of mutually exclusive folders based on content. Once sorted, you could simply delete those unnecessary e-mail (this may take long, but the results would be worth the effort).

Quit boomeranging – Don’t reply on every e-mail sent to you. Sort out the unnecessary messages and reply only to those mails that matter.

Think before sending – Before clicking that "Send" button, stop and ask yourself if that e-mail would really be helpful. Is it timely? Topical? Targeted? Or just one of your "me-mail"?

Be polite at times – Although politeness matters, it doesn’t mean you have to reply on every e-mail with a one-liner called "Thanks!". Reserve your thank-you e-mails for extraordinary efforts. You could also include some abbreviations in your subject line such as "NRN" (No Reply Needed) or "NTN" (No Thanks Needed).

Schedule live chats – E-mail may be the easiest channel but it is not the best medium of communication in the workplace. If you think your message would ensue a long back-and-forth discussion over the mail, consider scheduling a live online conversation instead.

Give your e-mails a professional look – E-mails can help or hinder your professional image. You need to place high priority on spelling and grammar, which you can refer through your e-mail’s spellcheck (if ever there is one). Also, go easy on the ALL CAPS, abbvs., acronyms like ASAP, !’s, and ’s.

E-mail with a cool head – If you plan to send an angry e-mail, don’t. You will only regret it later. Prevent it by following the 24-hour rule. Write the e-mail, but wait a day to send it. This gives you time to cool down and create a new, no-regrets message.

Mind your time – Put a stop to endless cycle of reading and responding to e-mails right as they come in. This would only hinder you from doing your actual job. Set aside short periods of your time each day to check your e-mail. Also, eliminate the unnecessary (and annoying) "Ding" sound you get when being alerted with new messages. Program your e-mail to synchronize every half hour instead of every few minutes.

Coach frequent senders – Your employees would not send you better e-mails overnight. You need to offer your frequent senders tips on avoiding e-mail overload.