Email is unidirectional—anyone, at any time, can just go to your inbox without permission, invitation or consideration. Empowering the world to demand a thin slice of your attention is more than unfair—it’s a recipe for constant distraction. These are my rules for taking back control, and my undivided attention.
邮件是单向传送的——任何人，任何时间都可以不需授权和邀请要不犹豫的给你的邮箱发邮件。让你花费注意力在不断接收的邮件上是不公平的——这将不断地分散你的注意力。以下是一些可以使你收回掌控，全心全意使用邮件的规则。
Rule No. 1: Unsubscribe.
规则1：取消订阅。
Most people sign up for newsletters with the best of intentions. But there is no way you can read every product update, sales announcement or latest happening from your vendors. Unsubscribing takes a little more time than deleting, but it will save you hours every year. Think what you can do with that newfound freedom.
大多数人订阅时事新闻都怀有较好的初衷。但是你不可能阅读完所有的最新报道、销售公告或供应商的最新动向。取消订阅会比删除邮件多花费你一点时间，但这会给你每年节省出一些时间。想想你可以用这些节省出的时间干多少事情。
Rule No. 2: Delete with a vengeance.
规则2：故意删除邮件。
When in doubt, delete. If it’s that important, someone will follow up with you. Respond to what you can and move the rest to recycling. To avoid deleting emails from truly important senders—like your parents, or kids, or boss—assign them a unique color or set up a similar email rule that lets you know at a glance which messages are most likely to be critical.
当你怀疑邮件不重要时，删掉它。如果这封邮件真的那么重要，那么会有人继续和你联系的。回复你能回复的邮件，其余就不要管了。避免删掉真正重量级发信人的邮件——比如你的父母、孩子或者老板的——将他们的邮件用单独的颜色标记或者设置一个类似于能让你简要了解邮件大意的的邮件规则就非常重要了。
Rule No. 3: Bolster Your Subject Lines.
规则3：写好你邮件的主题行
“On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”
“通常，人们每阅读主题行5次，才会阅读1次邮件主体。当你写完邮件的主体行，你就已经完成这封邮件的百分之八十了。”
Why waste valuable real estate with lines like, “Please read,” “Follow up,” “Checking in,” or worse … writing nothing at all. Tell me what you’re emailing me about, or what you need, and I’m much more likely to spare you from the delete key.
为什么要将这么重要的主题行浪费在写诸如：“请阅读”；“请跟进”；“请查阅”，或者更糟…什么都不写。告诉我你给我发了什么邮件或者你需要什么，那么我才不会把你的邮件直接删掉。
Rule No. 4: Keep it brief.
规则4：简明扼要。
There is nothing more annoying than a long, rambling, detail-stuffed email that ends with “Thoughts?” These get deleted first. If your message is more than a few sentences, it probably needs to be an in-person conversation, or at the very least a phone call. Get to the point and have a call to action. Train your colleagues to do the same. You’ll all be happier and more productive for it.
没有什么能比一封冗长、杂乱无章、充满细节、以一堆想法结尾的的邮件还要烦人的了。你首要要做的就是删了这类邮件。如果你的邮件话很多，那似乎你需要的是一个私人谈话或者至少是一通电话。请马上抓住重点并打电话。训练你的同事也这么做。这会让你更快乐、更有效率。