Do Not Disturb for Email

Step away from the email cacophony and get work done — or just relax…

Back in 2010, I wished that Google would add Do Not Disturb to Gmail. They didn’t … and finally, I built it for myself.

My iPhone’s Do Not Disturb has become a core feature I use nearly everyday. I’ve scheduled my phone not to ring late at night or early in the morning unless it’s from one of my Favorites. I wanted the same functionality in my email.

This week, I released Filtered, an open source mail filtering application that adds a bunch of new capabilities to the email landscape. One of which is Do Not Disturb.

Install the Filtered application and click the Do Not Disturb menu option anytime to turn off your email. No new email will arrive in your inbox until you’re ready to reactivate it.

We don’t realize how much email affects our productivity — so finally having the ability to stop inbound email is an opportunity to get work done. Or, to just relax.

With Filtered, you can also set a do not disturb schedule for weekdays, weekends or specific days of the week with start and ending times in which you will not be disturbed:

And, of course, Filtered lets you exclude people from Do Not Disturb’s quiet hours:

When Do Not Disturb’s scheduled window ends — or when you turn email back on, Filtered will deliver held messages to your inbox and send you a detailed message digest showing bulk mail that’s been routed to all other folders.

The cacophony of email is mind-boggling. Within a few weeks of using Filtered, I counted receipt of email from more than 230 automated mailers. Filtered’s routing has helped me get this under control — but I especially appreciate the mental space that it’s quiet hours have helped me create.

If you’re interested in learning more about Filtered or want to request a customized installation, check out the feature summary or please feel free to contact me.