Keeping a Clean Inbox 📥

Archive vs Delete

Treat your inbox like a real mailbox—it’s just where messages arrive, not where they live. Once you’ve read an email, archive it to keep things tidy. Need it later? Just use search. Your School Account has unlimited storage in Google Workspace.

Archive 📥 → Moves the email to All Mail. Still searchable. Never deleted.
Delete 🗑️ → Moves it to Trash. Gone forever after 30 days. Not searchable

Gmail Search

Gmail Search.mov

Schedule Send and Email

Start by composing an email. Include all the relevant content, recipients and attachments.
Next to the Send button click the dropdown arrow
Choose Schedule send. Select one of the quick options OR choose Pick date & time and customize when your email will be sent.
Once the email is scheduled, it will appear in the Scheduled mailbox on the left sidebar.

Edit details of a Scheduled Email

In the left sidebar, look for the Scheduled mailbox.
Select the email you want to change.
At the top right of your email, click Cancel Send. This will convert the email back into a draft.
Make the changes to your email.
Next to the Send button click the dropdown arrow
Choose Schedule Send and select a new date and time for your email to send.

Inbox Zero

Inbox Zero is the email management approach that aims to keep your inbox empty or almost empty at all times. It treats your inbox as a todo list instead of an overcrowded storage facility.

Let's start by creating some rules for your email.

Reframe the way you think about your inbox
Your first task to reach Inbox Zero is to archive everything. Yes, you read right. Select all > Archive. Come back once you've done that.
Check your email at the same time every day
Maybe you have a free block in the morning or have time before class every day. Checking your email at a consistent time can give you the headspace for making decisions about what is and isn't important to you.
Triage your email
Let's explore the quick triage technique that Inbox Zero employs.

Is it actionable?

Examples of actionable emails are: invitations to calendar events, questions that require your attention or requests for information. Simply asking yourself this question can make checking your email that much more enjoyable.

What happens next? If an email requires no attention (newsletters, flyers, subscriptions, alerts, etc.), archive it for future reference or trash it for good. The goal here is to get emails out of your inbox.

Out of sight, out of mind!

Do I have time for this?

Will it take less than 2 minutes? Do it! Accept that calendar invite. Respond to that question from a parent. Send that file to your colleague. Once you've completed the task, archive the email and give yourself a pat on the back.

If a task will take you longer than 2 minutes, ask yourself: "is this my task?" If it isn't, send it to the appropriate person. Forward the email and archive it from your inbox.

If it is, you may not have the time to complete this task so let's snooze it and try again during our next email session. Snooze allows you to set a date and time for your email to re-enter your inbox. It will show up as a new email at the time of your choosing.

Try it yourself ✨ See if you can archive all the emails you’ve read, including this one! What does Gmail say when you’ve achieved an empty inbox?

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