"I have a one-person management consulting practice. I'm doing extremely well since my expertise is in great demand — maybe a little too well. I'm deluged with phone calls and emails, about 40 or more each day, every single one of which must be responded to.

"I want to give my clients the best and most responsive service I possibly can, but it's getting a bit overwhelming now and I don't want to hire people.

"Since it seems you operate the same way I do, do you have any good suggestions as to how I can keep everybody happy and still stay sane?"

My answer can be summed up in two words: not really.

After 36 years of practicing law, more than 20 of which were spent working as a lone wolf out of a home office dressed in bunny slippers and a bathrobe, I can tell you one thing about time management: Once you reach a certain point, it becomes nearly impossible to pull off. It becomes a little bit like that Abe Lincoln quote. You can keep everyone happy some of the time, and you can keep some people happy all the time, but you can't keep everyone happy all the time.

Like any solo professional, I can't answer every email and voicemail in real time. While I can certainly work on several projects simultaneously, I can only do one thing at any specific moment. Multitasking is a myth (especially for those of us with Y chromosomes). Every client is important, and it just so happens that sometimes the most urgent matter isn't the most important thing you should be doing.

Having said that, here are some time management principles I currently abide by to keep things under control. None of them are perfect, but they will at least keep you from committing malpractice or ticking off an important client (or worse, your spouse).

Segment Your Work Day. Block out certain windows of time each day when you won't answer emails or voicemails. For me, those times are 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. During those times I draft contracts and correspondence or write books and articles. If I'm approaching a big closing I allow myself to be interrupted for messages related to that project, but nothing else. If you block out time in the morning, choose one of the projects on your "to do" list right when you start your day. Start it and finish it before you even think about emails and voicemails.

Don't fall into the trap of spending so much time each day answering messages that the only time available to do real work is evenings and weekends. That is the road to serfdom.

Triage Your Inbox. Email is the biggest enemy of successful time management. You have no control over how many messages flood your inbox. Also, people often expect an instantaneous response.

So, each time you open your inbox, take a quick look at all the new messages, but don't start answering them. Do some triage (which comes from the French word meaning "to sort") by tagging each email as "Answer Immediately," "Answer Eventually" or "Don't Answer." Everyone has their own triage method. Here's mine:

When I open my inbox, I first delete all the obvious junk emails. I don't even look at them, but I mark the really weird ones as spam so I never get them again.

Next, I look for messages related to projects I am currently working on. I answer them quickly, in a sentence or two if I can. If I can't, I respond asking to schedule a phone call to discuss the subject of the email. I don't like engaging in long-winded email exchanges with clients and other attorneys. On the rare occasion I have to do that, though, I make sure to charge for my time.

Finally, I look for messages related to new projects or clients. I give priority to the following:

—New projects requested by existing or former clients.

—New projects requested by new clients that are relatively easy and will generate significant revenue.

—Opportunities for speaking engagements and writing projects (preferably those that provide compensation) that will help me promote everything I do.

—Questions I can answer in this column.

That leaves the rest of the voicemails and emails, which generally consist of requests for free legal advice and requests for services I cannot render because I don't know the area of law, the reward just isn't there, or I'm not admitted to practice where the sender is located.

If I have time, I may refer one or two of these folks to other attorneys (especially those in the second group), but mostly I just discard them knowing there will be more in my inbox tomorrow.

Cliff Ennico ([email protected]) is a syndicated columnist, author and former host of the PBS television series "Money Hunt." This column is no substitute for legal, tax or financial advice, which can be furnished only by a qualified professional licensed in your state. To find out more about Cliff Ennico and other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit our Web page at www.creators.com.