Your inbox is lying to you: 7 free email fixes that make it usable again

1. Do a mailing-list sweep before you touch anything else

1. Open your inbox and search for unsubscribe, newsletter, or list: if your mail app supports it.
2. Open only senders you recognize.
3. In Gmail, use the built-in Unsubscribe option next to the sender name when it appears; Google says some senders may send you to their own website instead, and it may take a few days for the messages to stop. 1
4. If the sender still matters but does not need your attention, archive the current batch and handle it with a filter in hack 3.

2. Use search operators as a broom, not a detective tool

1. Run one narrow cleanup search at a time. Start with older_than:1y, larger:10M, has:attachment, from:, or subject:.
2. Scan the first page of results for obvious keepers.
3. Archive or delete in batches. If you are nervous, archive first and delete later.
4. Repeat with one more operator. Stop after 10 minutes.

3. Build one filter for one repeat sender

1. Pick a sender that appears several times a week: receipts, shipping updates, system alerts, school notices, or a community list.
2. In Gmail, search for that sender, click the search-options icon, test the search, then choose Create filter. Gmail can send matching mail to a label, archive it, delete it, star it, or forward it automatically. 4
3. In Outlook, create a rule that applies a condition and then moves, flags, forwards, or otherwise handles matching mail; Microsoft describes rules as automatic actions on incoming messages. 5
4. Name the label or folder plainly: Receipts, Shipping, School, Bills, or Read later.

4. Replace "leave it unread" with snooze or defer

1. When an email needs action later, do not mark it unread as a reminder.
2. In Gmail, hover over the message, click Snooze, and choose when it should return; Gmail says snoozed mail temporarily leaves the inbox and comes back at the chosen time. 7
3. For several related messages, select them as a group and snooze them together.
4. If your app does not have snooze, move the message to one folder called Action later and check that folder at a fixed time.

5. Save two reply templates you actually send every week

1. Look at sent mail and find two replies you keep rewriting: "Thanks, received," "Could you send the attachment?", "I can't make that time," or "Here are the next steps."
2. In Gmail on desktop, enable templates under Settings > Advanced > Templates, then save draft text as a template. Google says Gmail templates are for messages with information that does not change frequently. 8
3. Keep each template short. Leave brackets for the parts you must personalize: [name], [date], [specific request].
4. Rewrite each template after you use it three times.

6. Turn on the five shortcuts that remove the most clicks

1. In Gmail desktop, turn keyboard shortcuts on under settings, then press ? inside Gmail to see the full shortcut list. 9
2. Learn only five at first: e to archive, # to delete, r to reply, a to reply all, and / to search.
3. Practice on low-risk mail for one day.
4. Add one navigation shortcut later, such as g then i for Inbox.

7. Batch-process with the four Ds

1. Set a 15-minute timer.
2. For each message, choose one of four actions: delete, do, delegate, or defer.
3. If it takes under two minutes, answer or file it now.
4. If it requires someone else, forward it with one direct request.
5. If it requires you later, snooze it or put it on your task list.

The 15-minute reset order

1. Unsubscribe from three recurring senders.
2. Search older_than:1y has:attachment and archive the obvious dead weight.
3. Create one filter for the repeat sender you see most.
4. Snooze every message that is waiting on a future date.
5. End with a four-D pass through the first page of your inbox.