Should I clean up my inbox or not?

Discussion in 'Mac Apps and Mac App Store' started by Forkjulle, Apr 13, 2013.

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  1. Forkjulle, Apr 13, 2013

    Forkjulle macrumors regular

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    #1
    In the days of Gmail, I was always told that keeping one's inbox as clean and empty as possible. You know, move emails into folders etc, as long as they're out of the inbox.

    I'm not sure if this is sound advice.

    After moving to iCloud (and Apple Mail), I've found that my inbox is quite large. I have a handful of mailboxes, and even more smart mailboxes.

    I understand that smart mailboxes don't move the messages out of the inbox.

    Is it acceptable, performance-wise, to leave the inbox quite full, while using smart mailboxes as a quick way of organising?

    Or would mailboxes be better?
     
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  2. maflynn, Apr 13, 2013

    maflynn Moderator

    maflynn

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    #2
    Nether is better, but rather what works for you. I prefer organizing my emails others like it all in one place. Set up a work flow that best suits your needs and tastes.
     
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  3. Forkjulle, Apr 13, 2013

    Forkjulle thread starter macrumors regular

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    #3
    What I mean is...

    ...is a full inbox no slower / faster than the emails split across mailboxes and smart mailboxes? (As in the application's performance and speed.)
     
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  4. takeshi74, Apr 13, 2013

    takeshi74 macrumors 601

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    #4
    A smart mailbox isn't going to have any impact either way. It's essentially a view. As you stated, the mail remains in its existing physical location.

    Are you actually having performance issues?
     
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  5. Forkjulle, Apr 13, 2013

    Forkjulle thread starter macrumors regular

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    #5
    No. I'm just interested in whether or not an inbox, with thousands of emails, will slow down things, and whether or not it's more efficient to move emails out of the inbox.
     
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  6. Jbedoun, Apr 13, 2013

    Jbedoun macrumors newbie

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    #6
    My gmail has over 10,000 emails in the inbox. I use the search feature if I want to find something. It is not slow at all.
     
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  7. James Craner, Apr 13, 2013
    Last edited: Apr 14, 2013

    James Craner macrumors 68000

    James Craner

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    #7
    I think this may be more of a workflow issue, if you have the tendency to leave emails in your inbox, you may have a lot of redundant emails you no longer need to keep. An IMAP mail system that syncs over all your connected devices may start to slow as your stored mail builds up. I came across Merlin Mann's InBox Zero concept a few years ago, which basically applied a Getting Things Done (David Allen) philosophy to have a better process to manage your email. After using it for a while, I found it really worked for me and I wrote an article about it, with links to some of Merlin's original work that inspired me.
     
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