Achieve Inbox Zero with AI Assistance

The Problem

Your inbox has become a catch-all for everything: tasks, reference material, newsletters, and actual correspondence. With hundreds or thousands of emails, it's overwhelming to even start organizing.

The Workflow

This workflow follows the GTD (Getting Things Done) methodology: process each email and decide its fate immediately.

Step 1: Get an Overview

First, understand what you're dealing with.

Prompt to use:

Analyze my inbox and give me a breakdown:
- Total unread emails
- Emails from the last 24 hours
- Emails older than 1 week
- Top 5 senders by volume
- Estimated newsletters/promotional emails

Step 2: Bulk Delete Obvious Junk

Clear out emails that don't need individual attention.

Prompt to use:

Find all promotional emails and newsletters older than
30 days that I haven't opened. List them grouped by sender
so I can decide which to delete in bulk.

Example output:

PROMOTIONAL EMAILS (older than 30 days, unopened):

From store@retailer.com (23 emails)
From deals@shopping.com (18 emails)
From weekly@newsletter.com (12 emails)
From promo@service.com (8 emails)

Total: 61 emails ready for cleanup

Step 3: Process Action Items

Extract and handle emails requiring action.

Prompt to use:

From my unread emails, identify ones that need action from me.
Categorize them:
- Reply needed (estimate time: quick/medium/long)
- Task to add to my list
- Meeting to schedule
- Just needs reading

Step 4: Handle Quick Replies

Knock out emails that need brief responses.

Prompt to use:

Show me the emails marked as "quick reply needed".
For each one, draft a response and let me approve before sending.

Step 5: Convert to Tasks and Calendar

For emails requiring more time, extract them into your systems.

Prompt to use:

For the emails needing longer responses or action:
- Create a reminder for each with the due date mentioned
- Add any meetings to my calendar
- Summarize what each task involves

Step 6: Archive Processed Emails

Once handled, archive emails to clear your inbox.

Prompt to use:

Move all emails I've processed today to the Archive folder.
Keep only emails that still need action in my inbox.

Expected Result

A clear inbox with zero unprocessed emails. Everything is either archived, deleted, converted to a task, or scheduled for follow-up. Your inbox becomes a true inbox—a temporary holding area, not a permanent storage system.

Tips

• Schedule 15-30 minutes daily for inbox processing
• Use the 2-minute rule: if it takes less than 2 minutes, do it now
• Don't check email constantly—batch process 2-3 times per day

Tools Used

This workflow uses multiple toolboxes:

Mail toolbox:

Tool	Purpose
mail_search_messages	Find and filter emails
mail_get_messages	Read email content
mail_reply_message	Send quick replies
mail_move_message	Archive processed emails
mail_delete_message	Remove unwanted emails

Reminders toolbox:

Tool	Purpose
reminders_create_reminder	Create tasks from emails

Calendar toolbox:

Tool	Purpose
calendar_create_event	Schedule meetings from emails

Related Workflows

• AI Email Triage - Quick daily prioritization
• Email to Task Conversion - Extract action items
• Bulk Email Organization - Deep inbox cleanup