Productivity · Inbox

Inbox triage (free)

No Superhuman. Just Gmail + Claude in a side window.

If you can't justify Superhuman yet, Gmail's filters + canned responses + a Claude side window covers 80% of the value. Two filters do the splits Superhuman charges for.

PRODUCTIVITYBEGINNERBeginnerFrom $0/mo
GmailClaude
The stack
Gmail
Inbox + filters

Filters labelled VIP / Newsletters / Action handle the triage Superhuman calls 'Splits'. Snooze is built in.

Free · $6/mo Workspace
Claude
Reply drafts

Side window with your voice samples. Paste email in, paste draft out. The hotkey is Cmd+Tab.

$20/mo Pro · API $3/M tokensAlts: ChatGPT
Real monthly cost
small
$0/mo
Personal Gmail
  • gmailFree
  • claudeFree tier
medium
$26/mo
1 inbox + Pro Claude
  • gmail$6 Workspace
  • claude$20
heavy
$78/mo
EA + 3 inboxes
  • gmail$36
  • claude$20
  • + misc$22
Workflow
  1. 1
    Set up 3 filtersGmail

    Gmail filters: VIP (named senders), Newsletters (list-unsubscribe header present), Action (you're in To, not CC). Triage in that order.

  2. 2
    Drafts in side windowClaude

    Claude in a browser tab. Pinned. Paste email + 3 of your past replies for voice; paste draft back into Gmail.

    Prompt · Reply draft (same prompt as Superhuman version)
    Draft a reply to this email in my voice.

Email I received:
"""
{{paste email}}
"""

3 of my recent replies (for voice anchoring):
"""
{{paste 3 replies}}
"""

Intent: {{e.g. "decline politely", "say yes and propose Tue 2pm", "ask one clarifying question"}}.

Constraints:
- Length: same as my voice samples, no longer.
- No "Thanks for reaching out" or "I hope you're well".
- One specific reference to something they said.
- One clear next step.
- Sign off the way I sign off in the samples.

Output the reply only.
  3. 3
    Schedule sends manuallyGmail

    Gmail's Schedule send (the small caret next to Send). Send between 7 to 9am local for higher reply rates.

What it produced
Indie consultant, 90 emails/day

From 60 min/day on email to 35 min/day. Tested Superhuman at month 3, kept the pipeline; the only gap was raw keyboard speed.

Common pitfalls
Filter rot

Gmail filters are write-once-forget. Re-audit every 2 months or you'll find the VIP filter quietly missed your top customer.

Tab-switching tax

Without Superhuman's keyboard composition, every reply costs you the Cmd+Tab. If your inbox crosses 200 emails/day, that tax compounds. Upgrade then.

Other ways to do Inbox triage
Inbox triage Recommended
Power-user setup with Superhuman
$18/mo
View stack
Curated by @rae-f
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