You might think you're saving time by processing emails everyday and maintaining inbox zero. You are, but not so much as you would if you didn't have to look at those emails at all. Thankfully, you can reclaim more of your time with these simple changes.
1. Block annoying people: You can direct emails from annoying senders straight to the spam folder without the need for filters. All you need to do is click on the down arrow next to the Reply button in any email from that sender and then click the Block option in the dropdown. This is just one of the awesome Gmail features Google introduced in 2014-2015.
If you want to unblock a sender, you can do it easily from Settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses.
2. Mute threads: Group emails can be fun, but they also take away time you can't afford to spare. Mute any not-so-important thread in a couple of clicks via the More dropdown from the top bar when you have the conversation open. New emails will still show up in the thread, but you won't be notified about them.
3. Filter mails from "unsubscribable" lists: For a mailing list that doesn't honor your unsubscribe request, open any email sent from its address, click on Filter messages like this from the More dropdown, and set up a filter to auto delete mails from that sender.
4. Pause your inbox: Send your inbox on a vacation with Inbox Pause. It keeps incoming mails from your inbox by holding them for you under a special label. You can "unpause" your inbox whenever you're ready for them and those emails get moved to your inbox, as good as new.
How do you stem the flow of non-urgent, non-important emails in your primary inbox?