A comprehensive guide to a clean inbox with Gmail filters

There is a high chance that only a small portion of the emails you receive require action. The rest mostly fill up your inbox and Gmail storage, resulting in a cluttered email environment. You may also use one account for different purposes, and manually sorting your mail into corresponding folders is quite inconvenient.

You can eliminate all of the above issues by using Gmail filters to automate mundane, repetitive email management tasks. This guide will show you how to use this helpful feature to keep your inbox clean. You’ll then learn about Gmail’s shortcomings to help you decide whether setting up different filters is worth it.

The term “filtering” can refer to two actions:

1. Using the search bar to find specific emails

2. Creating automatic filters (also known as rules) that sort incoming mail

These actions are interconnected, as you’ll first use the search function to highlight specific emails before creating a filter.

Let’s assume you want to create a filter that automatically deletes promotional emails. In this case, you can search for a keyword that appears in most of them, such as “unsubscribe.”

Keep reading: Find out if Gmail deletes old emails lingering in your inbox, and discover the best solutions if your Gmail account isn’t receiving emails.

Gmail will show you all emails containing the keyword, so you can click the filter icon on the right side of the search bar and go to ‘Create filter’ to access the automatic filtering option, as shown in the following image:

You can also access this feature from settings by following these steps:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper-right corner of the main screen

2. Click See all settings

3. Go to Filters and Blocked Addresses

4. Click Create a new filter

Whichever approach you take, you’ll see various options that let you decide on emails you’ll filter and actions Gmail should take.

The first step toward creating a Gmail filter is to set specific criteria for the email you wish to automate. The aforementioned example has the keyword “unsubscribe” as the criterion, but you can play with the feature using the so-called operators. 

Besides the self-explanatory operators like from: that lets you filter messages by sender, other common options include the following:

You can combine operators to fine-tune the conditions and target specific emails, which can be especially helpful for managing spam. Once you do that, follow these steps to finalize your action:

1. Click Create filter

2. Choose what you want Gmail to do with the emails that match the criteria

3. Click Create filter again to set the new rule 

The new filter will regulate all incoming mail, but you can apply it to everything currently in the inbox by checking ‘Also apply filter to matching conversations.’

Besides decluttering your inbox, organizing mail by folders automatically is the most common use of filters. Some users struggle with this option because no available filter actions mention folders.

The explanation is simple—Gmail refers to folders as labels. You can apply them to the emails you want to clean and automate.

For simplicity’s sake, let’s assume you want to separate personal from business emails. In this case, you should first create the corresponding labels by following these steps:

1. Click the + sign next to Labels in the left-hand menu

2. Name your label

3. Click Create

The new labels will show up on the left side of your inbox, and you can take the following steps to apply them automatically:

1. Set the conditions as explained above (e.g., you can choose to filter emails from family members)

2. Click Create filter

3. Check the box next to Skip the Inbox (Archive it)

4. Check Apply the label: and choose the corresponding label

5. Click Create filter again

Checking the ‘Skip the Inbox’ box ensures the email goes straight to the chosen folder. Otherwise, it will appear in your main inbox despite being labeled. 

You may need to add new conditions or actions to your filters as your correspondence evolves. In this case, you can take the following steps to update them:

1. Click the gear icon and go to See all settings

2. Go to Filters and Blocked Addresses

3. Click edit next to the filter you want to modify

4. Change the conditions (if applicable) and click Continue

5. Set new rules and click Update filter

If you no longer want to use the filter, click the ‘delete’ button positioned next to ‘edit.’ Note that while deleting a filter removes it from the affected emails, it doesn’t reverse any action taken while it was active—it won’t restore your deleted emails.

Gmail offers a solid email experience and valuable features at no cost, but its filter system often falls short when it comes to supporting complex workflows and maximizing productivity. Common limitations users experience include:

• Time-consuming maintenance: Setting up and constantly tweaking filters as communication patterns evolve can become a significant time sink. Users have complained that despite the filters they’ve put in place, it takes time to continuously weed out spam.

• Lack of flexibility: Gmail’s filters can sometimes be rigid, only following predefined rules without accounting for the nuances of real-world email communication. This increases the risk of missing or miscategorizing essential emails that don’t precisely match the rules you set. For example, emails can get filtered away if the subject lines deviate slightly from your set parameters. 

If you’re finding that Gmail’s filters require too much manual effort and are still allowing important emails to slip through, it’s time to consider more intelligent, AI-driven alternatives. They offer advanced inbox organization without the constant micromanagement. 

AI-powered email tools are built around a core goal—helping you reclaim your time and attention through intelligent automation. They go beyond basic inbox management by offering features that automate non-routine tasks, prioritize important information, and streamline communication workflows. 

The result? You get a powerful workflow assistant that helps you manage your digital communications, freeing up your time to focus on your primary responsibilities.

Consider the key ways AI automation tools can help you optimize your inbox and boost your productivity:

• They minimize the manual effort it takes to process your inbox, freeing up your cognitive resources to handle more demanding work.

• They help you filter out email distractions so you can concentrate on emails that really need your attention. 

• They reduce the need to switch between multiple applications, improving your workflow efficiency.

An AI-focused email service is an investment in your time, focus, and overall well-being. Explore Notion Mail if you need a solution that provides this level of functionality and enhancement.

Notion Mail is a next-generation AI-native email client designed to positively switch up your inbox experience. It brings unrivaled organization to your email, giving you all the resources you need to take control of your inbox, transforming it from a source of stress to a productivity powerhouse. 

Notion Mail enhances your email workflow by: 

• Eliminating manual tasks with AI automation: Auto-sort and prioritize your emails into specific labels based on your priorities and email patterns using the AI auto labeling feature. You can set it to automatically categorize project updates or client emails, freeing you from manual sorting. 

• Customizing all your workflow views: Create tailored inbox views that adapt to your needs, such as views that display emails only related to a specific project or client. This level of control and customization keeps you focused and eliminates distractions. 

• Composing emails faster with AI-assisted writing: Use the quick reply feature to respond promptly to emails with AI-generated suggestions. Create reusable email snippets or templates for common email inquiries and insert them into your emails with one click. 

• Slashing scheduling time with Notion Calendar integration: Simplify meeting scheduling using commands like /schedule to quickly propose meeting times or insert scheduling buttons like Calendly. This eliminates the endless back-and-forth of regular scheduling methods. 

Notion Mail is an exclusive Gmail client, so you need a Gmail or Google account to sign up. Built to work seamlessly with Gmail, Notion Mail brings smart organization and automation to your inbox without sacrificing reliability. 

Getting started with Notion Mail is straightforward and only takes a few steps—all you need to do is connect your Gmail or Google account, and you’re in! Upon creating your account, you can immediately start categorizing your emails and organizing your inbox with ease. 

Notion Mail is a free email service, but if you want to maximize its automation capabilities, you can get the Notion AI add-on to access cutting-edge productivity features.

Bonus read: Become a pro at managing your inbox; explore our wide range of email tutorials to get a better grasp of your email:

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• How to find unread emails in Gmail

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