minimalist email

Most people spend a lot of time in their inboxes, so having a simple workspace is important. I’ll be using Gmail for this guide, but these tips will work for other services too.

1. theme. I prefer “light” or “soft gray” for a non-distracting look.

2. system. If you aren’t satisfied with your email system, you are welcome to try this one. It’s really simple and has worked well for me.

inbox: needs attention
trash: don’t need it
archive: want to save it
starred: needs action later

compose: limited emotes, no texting lingo, straightforward
reply: respond quickly, keep it short

3. opt-out. Gmail has an excellent spam filter, but it doesn't block subscriptions or store newsletters. You'd be surprised at how many of these you get each week. I use unroll.me to unsubscribe and google reader to read site updates.

4. contacts. I skip formalities and list everyone by their first names. Quicker to type and makes a prettier list. It's also good to remove people you don't talk to anymore.

5. hide stuff. With userscripts, you can hide anything you don’t need. You can search userscripts.org yourself, but here are a few starters: stars, no new mail (empty inbox), footer & invite a friend, ads, top bar.

If you prefer a browser extension, this one is amazing.

6. keyboard shortcuts. Navigating with key strokes is effortless. You don’t have to memorize all of them to benefit. I only use 10, but it has made a big difference. Be sure to turn on 'keyboard shortcuts' in settings first.

7. things you can turn off.

-desktop notifications
-people widget
-signature
-snippets
-chat
-web clips
-gadgets/labs
-priority inbox markers

Find the option to disable them in Gmail settings.

8. decrease max page size. Under general settings. I have mine set to 10 conversations and 50 contacts. This makes gmail load faster and simplifies your inbox by showing fewer emails.

9. hide labels. Settings > Labels, and hide all the ones you don’t regularly use. The rest can be seen by hovering anyway, so you aren’t losing access to anything. I only have “all mail” and “starred” shown, the rest are hidden.

10. chat. Simplify your chat list by setting the size to “small” and blocking people you aren’t close to (you can still email them or re-invite later).

11. filter junk. Unless you enjoy chain emails, jokes, or forwarded pictures of other people’s cats, you should filter them out. Simply create a new filter, then put "fw, fwd" for the subject. Continue, then check "skip inbox" and "apply label".

That's about it! How do you keep your inbox minimalist?