People ask me how they can get a handle on incoming mail. Outside In Organizer & Makeovers supports this basic approach:

SORT

PRIORITIZE

CONTAIN

The first thing you can do is schedule adequate, uninterrupted time to sort. Begin with one pile at a time, preferably recent mail, first. Don’t distract yourself and move from one pile to another. TIP: handle one piece of paper at a time, only once!