You’re not alone — this is classic, textbook, high-functioning ADHD executive overload, and it’s absolutely solvable without you needing to magically become a different person.

🌪️ First: Normalize It

ADHD brains don’t “chip away” at things — they wait until something (deadline, emotion, dopamine trigger) makes the task meaningful enough to do. That’s why inboxes, voicemails, and text threads accumulate. It’s not a moral failing. It’s a system mismatch.

Your numbers aren’t a sign of disorganization — they’re a sign of unfiltered input queues.

✅ The Fix Isn’t “Clean Everything”

It’s create three buckets:

1. Archive all past clutter

2. Create systems so future clutter doesn’t accumulate

3. Build tiny weekly routines that are ADHD-friendly

You do not need to read 43,901 emails. You need to make them not your problem anymore.

🚀 Step 1: Email – Fast Reset

sort emails by date range > click down arrow > select All > Archive

Gmail (personal):

Your goal is NOT “Inbox Zero.”
Your goal is Inbox Now.

Inbox Now = only today forward matters.

You can do one of these:

Option A — Fastest (5 minutes)

• Search: before:2025-01-01

• Select all → Archive

• Your new inbox = only recent stuff you might actually need.

Option B — Slightly more careful (20–30 minutes)

Make three Gmail labels:

• Bills & Money

• Medical

• Important Personal

Bulk-select by sender (banks, doctor, spouse, certain clients) → Apply the label → Archive.

Everything else = archive.

📱 Step 2: Text Messages

Settings > Apps > Filter Unknown Senders

You don’t need to read 2,245 texts.

ADHD-friendly reset:

1. Scroll to the very top

Archive or mute dead old threads (family threads, promotions, 2FA codes, delivery confirmations).

2. Star (or pin) only the following:

• Greg

• One or two close friends

• Work

• Doctor/clinic

• Pharmacy
  These become your “real inbox.”

3. For everything else:

“No unread badge, no obligation.”

📨 Step 3: Work Email

You only need to save the things that:

• affect client care

• affect liability

• affect pay

Everything else can be:

• sorted by sender

• briefly scanned for client-related items

• archived in bulk.

If your agency uses filters, set automatic ones:

• Billing / EHR

• Supervisor / Leadership

• Clients

• Everything else → auto-archive after 30 days

🔉 Step 4: Voicemails

If you’ve read the transcription, the voicemail is handled.

Action:

• Delete all voicemails older than 60 days

• Create one shortcut: “Save Important” for the 2–3 clinical ones you need.

🧠 Step 5: ADHD-Friendly Maintenance

Never do a daily check-in. ADHD hates it.

Instead:

🧽 Weekly “Inbox Reset Ritual”

(10–15 minutes, max)

Put it on:
Sundays or Mondays with your coffee.

Tasks:

• Process the pinned/pinned items only

• Archive everything else from the week

• Delete voicemails

• Review starred texts

That’s it.
The ritual should feel light and contained — not like an endless chore.

🔥 Step 6: Add These ADHD Lifesavers

• Turn off ALL notification badges except for
  texts, work email, and medical apps

• Use “Mark unread” as your to-do list

• Give yourself permission to miss things — you’re human, not a machine

• Use a catch-all phrase:
  “If it’s urgent, they’ll text again.”