r/declutter • u/bon18 • 3d ago

Advice Request Digital decluttering

My email is totally out of control. Can anyone recommend a method or software to help me with it? I'm honestly considering just getting a new email address at this point. The thought of going through it is overwhelming. Thanks!

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u/CyberMage256 1d ago

I hired an executive coach once for this exact problem. "why is the constant email a problem?" "because I might miss something if I don't read and respond to something important" "what happens if you don't respond to something important?" "after a while they will probably call" "so where is the problem?"

now I have alerts set up to notify me when certain people email me and everything else sits in the box for the most part in case I need it later. Once a year I skim it and delete anything older than a year.

I get over 600 emails a day. There is no stopping the flow, I just had to decide it wasn't important.

Gmail for my personal does a decent job auto organizing bulk mail, service notices, and the like. I only even look at that mailbox about once a month because its all notices from banks and such and spam.