How do you manage too much email?

Question

I just got back from a 3-week vacation where I was off the grid. Upon opening my email today, I find that there are 212 email messages in my inbox. I might add that I have some filters set to automatically filter out spam and useless messages; the actual number of total emails while I was gone is above 500.

I can't just delete them all... there may be some important ones.

I at least have to scan each email's subject to see if it's worth opening or just quickly deleting or archiving it. That still is taking a lot of time. It will probably take a few days before I get down to a manageable number of unread email.

What strategy and tricks do you have when handling lots of email messages?

sage2021 · Accepted Answer

It seems we can't buy anything anymore without giving them our email address and I really resent that.
I went to my cat's veterinarian to buya tube of over the counter medicine I gave her to prevent fur balls.
My cat wasn't even a patient but the first thing they were doing was building my personal profile! Asking me every question under the sun. I refused!!
I asked how much the medicine was and I slapped the exact amount on the counter, grabbed the medicine and walked out!!
I shop online a lot and the first question when you get to the site is for your email address and if you don't enter it you can't buy anything or just windows shop.
This is why my email in box has 999 emails in it!!
I want to delete ALL of them at once and start all over but there's no way to delete them all at once from my cellphone and I don't have a computer. When I had a computer in early
2000 there was a way to delete them all at once.
I even asked the guy at my phone store if he knew how to do it. He showed me his phone and it had 800 emails on it and he said he couldn't figure out how to delete them all at once.
This is why it gets out of control and we get bombarded with emails. I don't have any answers on how to stop them unless I do it one by one and that takes forever. So I just ignore them or I'll get a headache trying to delete them!
0

purplepoppy · Accepted Answer

Sort them by sender. You can deal with the important easier that way

RavVid · Accepted Answer

Well with work email I start with the most recent and scroll to the bottom and read up for the whole the hole chain. In a lot of cases you are just on the cc list for no good reason. So I'd probably check that first. Am I a TO or a CC?

Once you establish your input is not required than you can delete all of the chain.

I guessing you are mostly taking about personal emails so that strategy won't work well.

Even so starting at top and working down is at least likely to deal with most important more quickly.

OlderAndWiser · Accepted Answer

I can access all of my email accounts (four) from my phone. It just takes a few minutes and alerts me to possible emergencies. As long as I am practicing law, and as long as my 94 year old mother is alive, I can't remain out of contact for 7 or 10 days.

Account · Answer

I am going to be honest, I check my work email 2-3 times a week at most because most of the messages/pms I receive are on slack, we also use azure at my work, therefore, even when people tag me there I will see it without accessing my email because I look at the stories many times throughout my shift, therefore I don't really miss anything important.
As for the private ones well there are usually not very important, they are mostly spam and steam sales lmao, therefore I don't really bother tbh. I am not a very organized person admittedly.

Sunrising · Answer

Unfortunately I don't have any positive strategy or tricks for the build up of masses of emails, and even messages from GAG's. But I do try to check my emails while on holiday. Then when I return I start on the task of going through them all. I realise this is a marathon, not a sprint, and I delete the unimportant emails first, and then spending more time on the important emails last.

mrkdvsn · Answer

Out of my 4 email accts, only one has a substantial amount of pertinent messages. I 1st go through and delete all that I'm not that interested in, leaving the ones I want to open. But one thing I've noticed is that over time, the total quantity has decreased substantially

ArrowheadSW · Answer

I just got back from a trip. I delete all of the obvious ones that will be deleted, right away. Then I start going through the more important ones. I don't do it all at once after a trip.

MemeSupreme · Answer

i just have like 10 google accounts and each one has a certain purpose so my main important one doesn't really get much email

Dongie · Answer

Nice to have you back, Tom. I trust you had a very good time. I stay on top of my email horde by clearing it a few times a day. I routinely clear the unwanted repeaters by sending them to spam. I have to do that a out every 3 months or so.

NordicInScandinavia · Answer

Take one sender at a time; skim through the emails, mass deletion.

Anonymous · Answer

I feel your pain. At work I get 50 - 70 emails a day. Between meetings and getting stuff done during the day, I don't have time to get through them unless I start an hour early and go through all of them before the day starts.

CuriousMufuxka · Answer

Select all, find what might be important and unselect, mark the rest as spam. You'll probably only be left with like a page of relevant messages.

exitseven · Answer

I try and do it every day. I delete all the garbage/.

msc545 · Answer

Redirect all the crap I don't want to trash - permanently.

Sachem · Answer

I always ask to be removed from the emailer's subscription list. If that doesn't work, use BLOCK

Massageman · Answer

212 after 3 weeks? I wish my count was that low. 200 a DAY is more like it for me.

WonderingManII · Answer

I use protonmail for my email, and I don't get any junk mail.

Staximus · Answer

I do the same as you

In_Trance · Answer

you probably need like...10 of those

Xawyx-2 · Answer

Just be patient and read them all.

Panthero80 · Answer

Empty it regularly.

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