Breaking News: You Have Another Email

How Your Inbox Became a Never-Ending To-Do List

The Great Email Avalanche

You check your inbox, thinking, Maybe there’s just one or two new messages. Nope. There are 47. And that’s just since breakfast.

Emails arrive at an alarming rate, like overenthusiastic pigeons delivering messages you never asked for. Newsletters you don’t remember subscribing to, promotional offers from a store you bought one thing from six years ago, and, of course, the dreaded “just following up” email from someone who clearly doesn’t believe in giving you time to breathe.

Before you know it, you’re drowning in a sea of unread messages, desperately trying to sort, archive, or—let’s be honest—ignore them entirely. But don’t worry, they’ll keep coming. They always keep coming.

Inbox Sanity: A Survival Guide

Fear not! There are ways to regain control—without declaring email bankruptcy and starting a new life off the grid.

1. Unsubscribe Like Your Sanity Depends on It – If you haven’t read a company’s emails in the past three months, you probably never will. Hit that unsubscribe button like it’s a game-winning buzzer.

2. Filters Are Your Best Friend – Set up rules to automatically sort emails into folders. That way, your inbox becomes less of a chaotic battlefield and more of an organized (yet still slightly overwhelming) to-do list.

3. The “Two-Minute Rule” – If an email takes less than two minutes to respond to, do it immediately. Otherwise, it’ll sit there haunting you for days.

4. Schedule Email Time – Instead of checking your inbox every five minutes, set specific times to deal with emails. That way, you’re in control—not your inbox.

5. Accept That You’ll Never Be at Zero – Inbox Zero is a myth, much like stress-free travel or finding a table at lunchtime. Do your best, but don’t lose sleep over it.

At the end of the day, email is just a tool—don’t let it become your boss. And if all else fails? Just mark everything as read and start fresh. We won’t tell.