Thousands of unread
You stopped trying to read them all, and now the important ones hide.
Courses
Start with three things you can do today
How to manage your email inbox without checking it all day
Decide once what each email needs, and check your inbox on purpose.
A manageable inbox depends on fewer incoming messages, a quick decision for each one and set times to check. The course covers unsubscribing safely, filters, a four-way decision rule, clearing a backlog, checking less often and writing emails that create less email.
Type this when Cadence asks what you want to learn
My email inbox is out of control, full of newsletters, notifications and messages I have half read. I want a simple way to get it under control, stop checking it all day, and stop losing the emails that matter.
Change any word so it fits your situation. The course is built from what you type and a few setup questions.
Start today
Four things you can do before the course exists.
Useful on their own. The course is for when you want the whole skill, not just the first move.
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Unsubscribe from five senders today
Search your inbox for "unsubscribe" and pick five newsletters you have not opened in a month. Use the unsubscribe option for senders you recognise. For commercial email covered by US law, the FTC says senders must honour an opt-out within 10 business days.
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Treat unknown senders differently
If an email is unexpected or looks suspicious, do not click its links, including an unsubscribe link; mark it as spam or delete it. The FTC warns that links in phishing emails can install malware.
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Use a four-way rule
Open each email once and choose: delete or archive it, do it now if it takes about two minutes, pass it to the right person, or move it to a task list with a date. Original example: "Review Q3 report" goes on Thursday's list and the email is archived.
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Archive an old backlog safely
Original example: before archiving everything older than 30 days, search that batch for your manager's name and two key clients and deal with anything still open. Archived mail stays searchable if you need it later.
Sources: FTC: CAN-SPAM rules, including opt-out deadlines; FTC: how to recognise and avoid phishing. Practical examples are starting points, not promised results.
- Best for
- Productivity
- Prerequisites
- None. Bring the situation you have.
- Course length
- 7 to 30 lessons, sized to your goal
- Lesson pace
- About 10 minutes a day
- Format
- Read it, or play the audio
- Access
- Available on the App Store, with early features and Android testing access
Before the course is built
Setup asks about your situation first.
Lesson 1 opens on the moment you describe, and the examples use your role. For this request, expect questions like these.
- Roughly how many emails do you receive on a typical day?
- How much of it is work, personal, newsletters, or automated notifications?
- What bothers you most: the volume, constant checking, or missing important messages?
Right for now
If any of this sounds familiar, start here.
You check constantly
Every notification pulls you out of the work you were doing.
Things get lost
You read an email, meant to reply, and found it again three weeks later.
Course arc
Where the course goes, in order.
Cadence writes the lessons for you, so the exact path follows your answers. This is the ground a course built from this sentence covers.
01 / 06Why inboxes overflow
Volume, unclear next steps and the habit of checking.
Cutting the incoming
Unsubscribing safely, filters and notification settings.
The four-way decision
Delete, do, pass on or defer, for every message.
Clearing a backlog
Archiving old mail without losing what matters.
Checking on a schedule
Choosing how often you really need to look.
Sending less to get less
Writing emails that reduce replies and follow-ups.
What changes
What you will be able to do, and what you will stop believing.
You will be able to
Reduce what arrives
Unsubscribe from and filter what you never needed.
Decide quickly
Choose each email's next step the first time you open it.
Check on purpose
Read email at set times instead of all day.
Ideas this course corrects
Inbox zero means having no email
It means every email has been decided. Messages can wait in a folder or a task list, just not in the inbox.
Replying instantly shows you are good at your job
Much work email can wait a few hours. Agreed response times usually matter more than speed.
Course questions
What to know before you start.
How to manage your email inbox without checking it all day: what can I do today?
Unsubscribe from five senders today. Search your inbox for "unsubscribe" and pick five newsletters you have not opened in a month. Use the unsubscribe option for senders you recognise. For commercial email covered by US law, the FTC says senders must honour an opt-out within 10 business days. Treat unknown senders differently. If an email is unexpected or looks suspicious, do not click its links, including an unsubscribe link; mark it as spam or delete it. The FTC warns that links in phishing emails can install malware. Use a four-way rule. Open each email once and choose: delete or archive it, do it now if it takes about two minutes, pass it to the right person, or move it to a task list with a date. Original example: "Review Q3 report" goes on Thursday's list and the email is archived. Archive an old backlog safely. Original example: before archiving everything older than 30 days, search that batch for your manager's name and two key clients and deal with anything still open. Archived mail stays searchable if you need it later.
Is this a fixed course?
No. Cadence builds the course when you type the sentence and answer a few setup questions, so the lessons follow your situation. This page describes what a course built from this request covers. You see the whole path before Lesson 1.
Who is this course for?
A manageable inbox depends on fewer incoming messages, a quick decision for each one and set times to check. The course covers unsubscribing safely, filters, a four-way decision rule, clearing a backlog, checking less often and writing emails that create less email. It sits under Productivity in the Work & ambitions part of the library.
Do I need any prior experience?
No. Setup asks what you already know and where you want to use it, and the course starts from there. Bring a real situation if you have one; the examples are built around it.
How long does it take?
Courses run 7 to 30 lessons of about 10 minutes, sized to what you asked for. One lesson a day is the intended pace, and you can go faster. Lessons can be read or played as audio.
Does this course award a certificate or degree?
No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.
Start today
Type it, answer a few questions, open Lesson 1.
The sentence to type
My email inbox is out of control, full of newsletters, notifications and messages I have half read. I want a simple way to get it under control, stop checking it all day, and stop losing the emails that matter.