Now and then I read about someone who feels overwhelmed with their email. There are ways you can bring that email monster under control by using labels, folders, and rules. Details will vary from one email provider to another, but I will describe a few things you can do with Gmail.

Create a filter.

Once you select Create a filter, you see a slew of options.

If you receive mail from sources you don't care about, you could have it automatically deleted. Or you could Star email from important sources, automatically putting it in a separate Priority category. Another nice thing you can do here or with individual emails is create labels. For example, anything coming from a member of my family is labeled "Family."

Archive mail you've read and want to keep.

This gets the mail out of your inbox but keeps it accessible. If you use this tool together with labeling, you will get your email under control.