Overwhelmed by email? Some professionals are fighting back by <A HREF="http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=55775">declaring email-free Fridays</A>--or by deleting their entire in-box. About 150 engineers at chipmaker Intel will kick off "Zero Email Fridays." Email isn't forbidden, but everyone is encouraged to phone or meet face-to-face. The goal is more direct, free-flowing communication and better exchange of ideas, Intel principal engineer Nathan Zeldes says in a company blog post.

Email-free Fridays already are the norm at cell carrier U.S. Cellular and at order-processing Relevant Products/Services company PBD Worldwide Fulfillment Services in Alpharetta, Ga. Prominent techies are tackling the problem individually by declaring "email bankruptcy"--deleting or archiving an entire in-box and starting over.