[noobiscus]

I do.

5 overall states for email:

unread

read+star (urgent/reminder)

read (todo/reference for current tasks/projects)

archived (done + keep for reference)

deleted (done + not needed for reference, or ignored altogether) - so "your amazon order shipped" etc.

I don't keep the inbox empty, but there are only emails regarding ACTIVE tasks/conversations in it, its natural state is 0 unread emails, as if you don't do that, well chaos awaits.

Archive Tip; you can reply+archive; gmail resurrects the whole conversation if you get a reply back, so you can pick up the whole thing if something you thought was done with gets resurrected. (useful for those "here's an answer, hit me up again if that's no good" replies)

The flip side is; I don't bother with labels at all, search just seems to render that redundant as far as I can see.

[stuartjmoore]

Sounds almost exactly me. I leave important emails in my inbox that I'm working with (and one or two from my parents). I have a max of about 10 at any time. Zero unread.

I would love to see these states represented:

- Unseen (sent but I haven't opened my inbox or cleared the notification)

- Unread (seen but not opened)

- Read

- Read & replied

Then I can delete and archive when I want.

[dreeves]

I think GmailZero is perfect for your workflow. You can set your goal as inbox 10 instead of inbox 0. I could also see an argument for inbox 25 or whatever fits on one screen. Or maybe inbox 7 as the number of things you can hold in short-term memory...