My inbox was 1,400 emails deep until I set a 4 p.m. daily close-out timer

I used to treat email like a never-ending to-do list until last month when I started treating it like a physical desk, clearing everything by 4 p.m. sharp, even if it means archiving stuff I might need later. Has anyone else tried a strict cutoff time, or does that just make you anxious about missing something overnight?

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1 Comment

clairer795h ago

Doesn't the 4 p.m. cutoff just turn into a race to hide stuff before the clock hits zero, like cleaning your room by shoving everything under the bed? I tried it once and got so stressed about the timer that I archived a client's invoice and then spent the next three days digging through my trash folder like a raccoon. The anxiety of missing something overnight didn't go away either, it just moved from my inbox to my chest at 4:01. My system now is basically pretending emails don't exist until my coffee kicks in, which is honestly just a lazier version of your idea. Still, I respect the discipline, I just can't handle that kind of pressure without a cookie as a reward system.