A clean inbox can coexist with an untouched priority.

An empty inbox is a category of order that says nothing about whether the important work happened. It is finishable, visible, and immediately satisfying, which makes it a perfect place to spend a morning while the thing that mattered stays untouched. Tidiness is not progress.

Before clearing messages, do twenty minutes on the priority. The inbox will still be there and will take no longer. What changes is which one gets your best attention.