Triage

Superhuman’s Inbox Zero workflow is built to help you go faster by using just a few key actions to turn your inbox into a focused and actionable to-do list. 

Mark Done (Archive)

When you mark an email as done by hitting E in Superhuman, it’s saved to the Done folder so you'll always be able to find that message using search. Replies received on conversations you’ve marked as done will still arrive in your inbox. 

Remind Me (Snooze)

Reminders allow you to bring a message to the top of your inbox whenever you need it. Just hit H on your keyboard and type in a day, time, or month so you can set reminders down to the specific minute you need them.

Inbox Triage

Before you begin emailing for the day, start by triaging your inbox. The goal is to quickly look at each message and determine which action is needed for the day.

On this first touch, think of your inbox on a timeline. Does the message you're looking at need to be actioned today, in the future, or is it already done?

⚡ Try it now!

1. Sign into Superhuman and immediately open the first email in your inbox (no scanning 😉)
2. On every message ask yourself: "Do I need to do this today, in the future, or am I done with it?"
   1. If you need to do it today hit your J key, (think "J for Today") and this will keep the message as read in your inbox, turning it into a task on your list for the day
   2. If you need it in the future, hit H ("H for the Hour to be reminded") to bring a message to the top of your inbox when you need it
   3. If you’re done with an email, simply hit E ("E to Empty") to save that message to your Done folder
3. Now your inbox is a focused to-do list. Start taking action on the emails that require attention today and hit E to empty those messages to your Done folder as you complete the necessary tasks.

As the day progresses, you'll be able to clearly see new messages coming in identified by the dots on the left side of your inbox:

• You’ll see a blue dot next to unread messages. Time to triage that email! 
• Reminders (H) will have purple dots indicating this message required your follow-up at a specific time of your choosing.
• Messages you actioned with J for today won’t have a dot on the left side. This indicates a read message that needs your attention today.

Common Pitfalls

• Looking for the "most important" emails by scanning individual senders and subject lines from the full inbox view. You'll have to continuously mark them unread or star them, which ultimately leads you to action an email more than once.
• Jumping out of your email client into other applications as soon as you have a task to complete in your inbox. This leads to constant context switching and distractions that can really slow you down. Triage first, then start working with a more focused to do list in your inbox!

Next up, we'll show you a way to get a head start on Inbox Zero to start feeling the benefits immediately.