A related problem is that of people who don't really receive an outrageous amount of email, but think they do. Some of these people are technophobes who haven't yet figured out that reading their work email is a professional responsibility just like answering their phones. Others just think their own work is so important that they don't have to pay attention to anyone else. I've had the unpleasant experience of sending fairly urgent email to one of these folks, running into the culprit in the hallway later in the day, and being told, "Oh, I had 20 messages in my mailbox this morning so I didn't read any of them."

In case anyone missed the question above "How often should I check my email?" here's the answer again: At least twice a day. The fact that important information comes to you electronically is no excuse for ignoring it -- I don't care how busy you are.

If you're stuck working with someone who's not good about reading their email, you have two options: