Disconnecting in a hyper connected world is already challenging enough if not near impossible. An exploding inbox does not help. No one wants to come back from quality time off only to find an inbox of 5,000+ unread messages. Moreover, the very thought of having thousands of emails piling up is stressful and inevitably results in checking emails. This in turns sucks you right back into work mode, which blows. I have a solution. Read on.
I will be away until [February 5, 2015]. During this time, I will disconnect and be offline. In order to truly enjoy complete peace of mind during these precious days, I shall set up an automated email reply with a link to this post. So if you’ve found your way here from said reply, here’s the full message and catch: I’m off-grid until [Feb 5]. This means that any emails that come in until then will be *automatically deleted*. I do this for peace of mind whilst on vacation, not because I don’t value what you have to say. So, if your message is important, then please kindly resend it after [Feb 5]. If your message is super urgent, then please leave a note in the comments section below with your name, phone number and the nature of your emergency. Rest assured that your message will remain private and will not be made public on this blog or anywhere else.
Many thanks for your kind understanding about the auto-deletion. I promise to return the favor. Lets all help each other find easier ways to disconnect in our hyper connected world. In the meantime, may I interest you in my new book?
iRevolutions 
Bravo, Patrick.
Brilliant. Brilliant!
Silence is Golden! Enjoy.
A drastic measure! One alternative (for the less dedicated) is to ask people to resend important emails with “PATRICK” at the beginning of the subject line. That should get 5,000 down to 5.
Have a great holiday.