QUESTION: Digital order: how to clean up email and messengers regularly?

Regular cleaning of email and messengers helps maintain mental health, save digital space, and avoid missing truly important messages among information noise. To prevent this process from turning into a tedious chore, start by creating a simple plan and checklist that defines the criteria for deleting or archiving emails and chats.

First, sort out security and mission-critical communications, such as account access credentials, employment contracts, work documentation, and important service notifications. Only after all significant messages have been sorted into folders or archived should you proceed to deleting entertainment content, spam, newsletters, and outdated chats. This approach ensures that you do not accidentally delete anything necessary and avoid hidden data loss issues.

To maintain permanent order, implement the practice of micro-iterations: dedicate five minutes at the end of each workday to clearing your inbox and messengers. Unsubscribe from unnecessary newsletters as soon as they arrive, and delete chats after one-off discussions are completed. Track the time spent on these actions and, if necessary, allocate a small budget for paid versions of email clients with advanced filters, which will prevent overspending your personal time and energy on routine sorting.