The Big Idea
Your inbox is a tool—learn to use it to stay focused, organized, and in control of your time.
Did you get my email?
Staying organized and on task is an absolutely foundational skill to master for founders.
Building a product is a complex task that will have you busier than you might imagine. For many of us, one of the first things to go is our inbox.
Without looking, what's the count of unread emails in your inbox? Is that little notification bubble straining to fit all the count of unread emails?
Friends, it's time to take control.
A clean inbox isn't just about aesthetics; it is a critical tool for staying focused and on task, being responsive to your network, and staying productive.
In the life of a founder, the inbox is both a necessity and a challenge. Every deal, opportunity, and conversation is buried under a flood of noise. Superhuman is designed to change that.
Imagine an inbox that knows what's most important and drafts replies to messages before you look at them — and every action takes seconds instead of minutes. Superhuman transforms email into a tool for clarity, focus, and action.
This January, start your year with a platform built to help leaders like you get more done and save 4+ hours every single week.
With your first month free, there's nothing holding you back.
Your inbox is a tool, not a bottomless pit
Whether you use gmail, apple mail, Superhuman (shout out for sponsoring!), or Outlook, your inbox is a tool, and knowing how to use it is a game changer.
Treat your inbox like you would your favorite IDE or design tool—it's only as good as how you use it.
My approach:
- Only emails I need to respond to or act on live in my inbox.
- Labels and folders keep everything else neatly organized.
- Snoozing helps prioritize tasks for later without cluttering the present.
Think of your inbox as a task manager for important things, not a dumping ground for everything.
Turn Off Notifications and Regain Your Focus
Real productivity happens when you're focused - and for me, sporadic email notifications are an unpredictable distraction.
My tip: Turn off email notifications entirely.
Seriously -- I turned 'em off. On my phone, in my browser, and in my email client.
This lets me check and triage messages in my inbox when I choose, ensuring I stay in the zone while working.
This practice eliminates the randomization of being distracted by notification bubbles. Being intentional about when and how you engage with your inbox keeps it from controlling you.
A Clean Inbox = A Clear Mind
The value of an organized inbox goes beyond email:
- New, important emails are less likely to slip through the cracks
- Less notification spam is a free productivity boost
- It makes the unread count on your email app's notification bubble useful. Imagine that!
This sounds great, but I have 493287 unread emails
If you're sitting on hundreds of unread emails, it may be time to declare email bankruptcy.
Sometimes, the backlog becomes unmanageable — and that's okay.
Email bankruptcy isn't about giving up; it's about clearing your slate:
- Archive everything older than a certain date and triage the rest.
- Notify key contacts if they're waiting on something and ask them to resend anything crucial.
It's the fastest way to regain clarity and focus without drowning in old noise.
Use this reset as a chance to make email a tool that works for you—not against you.
Start the new year fresh
Your inbox, like any great tool, works best when you know how to use it. A clean start at the beginning of the year can help you reclaim your time, focus on what matters, and build habits that last all year long.
Take control of your inbox, and you'll find yourself in control of your time, your focus, and your productivity.
Who I'm learning from this week
By now, you know that I love functional 3D Prints. For me, the magic in this tech is in creating useful, customized tools to make your life better. It's a challenging process to master, which is why I really liked seeing this video on designing 3D printed mods for a vintage Toyota on the Fat Lip Collective YouTube channel. Even if you have no interest in old cars - there's lots to learn from the process used to develop a custom part.
If you haven't heard already, you should uninstall the Honey extension from your browser pronto. YouTuber MagaLag created an exposé on the many ways the extension has been abusing creators and consumers, and it's a must-watch.
Folklore (Kyle's version) is the most recent episode of the podcast Hyperfixed, from Alex Goldman. This episode goes deep on something that at first glance seems trivial, but eventually touches on verbal tradition, craftsmanship, and some fundamental truths of the physical universe. A fantastic listen.
