It seems like every day that I learn a new thing about the Mac. Yesterday I was surfing the web when I found this article by Ben Brooks on The Brooks Review about how he integrated a system similar to Gmail’s priority inbox feature into his Apple Mail workflow. I instantly went to Mail and started editing and making my own rule list, and so far, it’s made me very productive.

The rules system is very flexible, and has dozens of different options to choose from. For example, any e-mail I get that’s related to Apple Gazette is now colorized green. That means if the boss man sends me an e-mail, I see it right away and it gets priority. I’ve got the same basic rules for some of my other work as well, making sorting and prioritizing simple.

Better yet, e-mails can be instantly sent to the trash if you want, and you can make your own spam filter. And the options seem almost limitless. I’d bet there’s at least a few hundred different combinations, making it great for instant organization and cleaning up that messy inbox. I love finding things like this that make my life easier.