#inboxzero

🕯️ Obituary: Rebecca (1981–2025)

Formerly of Clapham. Passed away quietly, with her inbox at zero.

Rebecca was… efficient. She was on time. She colour-coded her calendar.

She spent 11 years in digital marketing and PR, mostly scheduling content for brands she didn’t believe in, attending meetings about tone of voice, and writing emails that said things like “just circling back.”

She lived alone in a rented one-bedroom flat above a nail salon. Her cat, Jasper, died during lockdown. She kept the little collar.

Rebecca commuted an hour each way to an office where she once got an award for "Best Team Energy."

She sometimes dreamed of forests, but never went.

She drank oat flat whites. She believed in hydration.

She was going to start painting again. She never did.

There will be no service. Rebecca’s inbox has been deleted. Her LinkedIn is archived. She is survived by no one.

Inbox Zero. It always felt like one of those productivity myths, like people who enjoy running at 5 a.m. or drink green smoothies on purpose. But in 2025, I finally cracked it. My inbox is clear, my brain is calmer, and I don’t get mini panic attacks when I see “+99 unread.”

Here’s how I did it, no fancy apps, no email gurus, just 3 simple rules that actually stuck.

Rule 1: “Touch It Once”

This changed everything.

Every time I opened an email, I asked myself:

Can I deal with this in under 2 minutes? If yes - I did it right then. If not - I labeled it as “To Do” and moved on. No rereading the same email 5 times before acting. No mental clutter.

Rule 2: The 3-Label System

Forget complex folders. In 2025, I simplified to just these three:

To Do – Needs action (reply, schedule, follow-up)

Waiting – I’m waiting on someone else’s reply

Archive – No action needed, but worth keeping

Everything else? I either deleted it or unsubscribed (more on that in a sec). This made checking email less like untangling Christmas lights.

Rule 3: Unsubscribe Like a Maniac

One afternoon, I went nuclear. I unsubscribed from every newsletter, promo, and “we-miss-you” email I wasn’t excited to open. If it didn’t make my life better, I cut it. Now I get maybe 10–15 emails a day, and they’re actually worth reading.

Bonus Tools That Helped:

Gmail filters: Automatically sort newsletters or updates

ChatGPT prompts: “Draft a short polite reply to this email”, total time-saver

Boomerang or FollowUp: Reminders if no one replies to your email

Final Thought:

If you’re anything like me, your phone’s notification light has become a tiny, anxiety-inducing siren. Emails you’ll never read, apps you forgot you downloaded, and a camera roll with more screenshots than actual memories.

It hit me one Friday evening — my digital life was out of control. And if my home deserved a good declutter every season, why not my devices too?

So, I spent one weekend decluttering my digital life. And no exaggeration — it changed the way I felt about my phone, my mind, and my free time.

Let me show you exactly what I did.

Step 1: I Deleted 76 Apps I Never Use

I started with my phone. I asked myself one question for every app: “Does this actually serve me or just steal my time?”

Gone:

4 different food delivery apps

That fitness app I opened twice

Random mobile games I hadn’t played in months

Multiple photo editing apps I didn’t even like

Instantly, my home screen felt calmer. Fewer distractions, less digital clutter.

Step 2: Inbox Zero (Yes, Really)

I tackled my email inbox next, it had over 12,000 unread emails.

I used these lifesaving moves:

Unsubscribed from marketing emails I never opened

Created folders: Bills, Receipts, Work, Personal

Mass-deleted old notifications and expired promo codes

By the end, I had an inbox with fewer than 20 emails. It felt like breathing after being underwater for hours.

Step 3: Cleared Out My Photo Gallery

I had over 9,000 photos - half of them blurry, random memes, and screenshots I no longer needed.

I deleted:

Duplicate selfies

Screenshots of things I couldn’t even remember why I saved

Old photos of things that no longer served a memory

Now, when I open my gallery, it’s a highlight reel of moments I actually care about.

Step 4: Removed Digital Dead Weight

Archived old group chats filled with memes from 2021

Left inactive online communities and Discord servers

Unfollowed accounts on Instagram and Tumblr that didn’t inspire me anymore

Disabled notifications for everything except texts, calls, and essential apps

Silence is underrated.

Step 5: Set Up a Mindful Tech Routine

After the cleanse, I didn’t want to slip back into the same chaos.

So, I now:

Turn off my phone an hour before bed

Use Do Not Disturb while working

Delete one unused app every Sunday

Limit social media scrolling to 30 minutes daily

It’s not perfect, but it’s lightyears better.

Final Thought

We spend so much time organizing our homes, but rarely think about the clutter we carry in our pockets.

Decluttering my digital life in a single weekend gave me more mental clarity, focus, and peace than I expected. It wasn’t just about fewer apps, it was about reclaiming my time and attention.

If you’ve been feeling scattered or exhausted by your devices lately, I promise: this digital declutter is worth it. Start small, or go all in this weekend.

How many of you are drowning in emails? 🙋‍♀️ Your inbox is more like a junk drawer—you keep meaning to clean it up, but it just keeps piling up.

Let’s talk about the stress of an overstuffed inbox:

📧 Unread emails that you’re too busy to read. 📩 Important tasks buried under random promotions. 💬 Follow-up emails you forgot to respond to, and now it’s awkward.

Here’s how I tackle inbox stress for clients:

Create a System: I help organize your inbox so emails are easy to find (and delete!).

Prioritize & Filter: No more missing the emails that matter.

Ongoing Support: I can manage your email flow for you so you don’t even have to think about it.

It’s a small thing that makes a huge difference in how your day goes.

If email overload is stealing your time, let's chat about how I can bring order to your inbox and reduce that stress for good. 🧘‍♀️