WASHINGTON – Most Americans arrive to work greeted by a full email inbox.

While constant email can be overwhelming, there is a strategy to keep it under control.

There are six basic rules that can help cut back on inbox clutter, says Kaitlin Sherwood, author of “Overcome Email Overload.”

Here are the tips from the book:

• Sign off your messages with “no reply needed” to avoid annoying one word responses
• When making a request, finish with “Thanks in advance” to prevent the “thanks/you’re welcome” loop.
• When completing a response to a request, end with a conclusive statement like, “hope this helped.”
• Use “FYI” in the subject line to specify that the message is solely informative.
• Don’t write statements phrased like questions, like “Peter and Laura did a great job, didn’t they?” Your coworkers will answer them, and you’ll have more pointless exchanges.
• When you receive a CC message and you must reply, send your response only to the sender instead of everybody. Use BCC instead of CC as often as possible.

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