A smart way to organise your emails

Ever feel like your inbox is a never-ending mess? Smart mailboxes might just be the trick you didn’t know you needed.

In email clients like Apple Mail, smart mailboxes are like virtual folders that automatically gather emails based on rules you set – like who it’s from, what it says, or when it arrived. They don’t move the emails physically, but they give you a clean, organised view without touching your original folders.

Other email platforms have their own versions, too.

Outlook has “Search Folders” (same idea: dynamic views based on filters), and Gmail uses “Filters” and labels to group emails automatically.

Smart mailboxes make life easier. Here’s what they do:

• show emails based on your chosen rules (sender, subject, keywords, etc)
• leave your emails where they are – no dragging and dropping needed
• update automatically when new matching emails come in
• keep things tidy by grouping messages by topic or project
• save you time by cutting down on searching.

A quick example might be that you’re working on a new publication. Set up a smart mailbox that grabs every email with the project name in the subject or body. Boom – instant project hub, even if the emails are scattered across lots of inboxes.

Smart mailboxes are one of the most underused (and most powerful) email tools out there. If you’re not using them, you’re missing out!