I had a pretty messy email account for years. I would just read mails, barely delete any, and generally leave them rotting in my inbox once I was done with them. Since I have been looking for a new job and went through application processes, my inbox got busy and I felt the need to organize it a bit.

I started by utilizing the archive function of FairEmail, so I can swipe left to archive and swipe right to delete. Most mails I just read and then delete because they don't provide any long-term value for me. The ones I want to keep, I archive.

All mails related to the job search are moved to a dedicated folder. The same goes for mails related to flat searching. I don't apply any kind of automatic rules to move these emails, because I don't feel it's necessary. The overall volume is still low, and it makes sure that I review each email that comes in and don't miss anything.

If I'm waiting for something, like that support case for my laptop, I will keep the related email pinned in my inbox. Apart from those special messages, I try to keep the inbox empty. That way I know immediately when a new mail comes in.

With the Problem of somebody (or something) reading my email so taken care of, I feel pretty good about my email situation. One more thing I will write about is how I started using aliases to protect my main address.