Well! This emptying-the-inbox plan is taking longer than I expected. One reason I posted my intention to clean out my inbox, rather than just write about it afterward, was to give me some accountability. Going public with my plan has been keeping it at the front of my mind—pushing me to actually do something I’ve [...]

I’m in favor of keeping a close-to-empty inbox. In theory. I have managed to get mine nearly empty, from time to time. There are good reasons do to it: All those undealt-with messages create background stress. And it’s a waste of time to keep re-opening the same messages only to continue leaving them there, unresolved. [...]