I received some great advice via Jack Canfield (of Chicken Soup for the Soul and The Secret fame) and his “Success Principles” e-mails.

Here is what he says about saying “no” to the nonsense that keeps us from doing what we need to do (and these are directly quoted from Mr. Canfield’s e-mail):

1.) Non-essential email such as poems, jokes and stories. Write a polite, “take-me-off-your-feel-good-list” response you can create as an email signature to reply whenever you receive these. If you are routinely copied on inner-office email that doesn’t apply to you, ask to be taken off the list.