Inbox When Ready

Context switching kills campaign focus

B2B marketers often juggle campaign tasks while keeping an eye on email, leading to constant context switching. Every time you stop building a Google Ads campaign or writing content to check Gmail, you pay a productivity penalty. Researchers have found it takes over 23 minutes to refocus after an interruption, and many professionals end up checking email every 6 minutes on average. This multitasking not only delays campaign work but also drains mental energy, making it harder to produce quality output.

Notification overload and mental fatigue

Gmail’s pings, pop-ups and unread badges can create notification overload during a busy workday. Nearly half of employees report feeling overwhelmed by the number of notifications they receive daily. Each new email alert competes for your attention, contributing to stress and decision fatigue. The cognitive cost is real frequent task switching can reduce your efficiency by up to 40%, and it increases mental fatigue over time. For a marketer reviewing analytics or crafting an email nurture flow, this constant mental juggling erodes focus and leaves you exhausted by day's end.

Deep work needed for campaign tasks

High-value marketing projects (like building LinkedIn ad campaigns, drafting nurture emails or preparing strategy reports) require deep work sustained, uninterrupted concentration. Protecting this focus time is challenging when Gmail is always in the background. If you find that important tasks are taking longer because email keeps pulling you away, it’s a sign that you need a better workflow. Inbox When Ready was designed to support deep work by hiding your inbox until you’re ready, helping you reclaim blocks of undistracted time.

Team responsiveness and email culture

Consider your team’s communication norms before installing. If you work in an environment where clients or colleagues expect instant email replies, completely hiding your inbox might feel risky. (The extension isn’t ideal for roles requiring replies within minutes.) However, many teams have discovered that response times can slow to a few hours without issue clients usually don’t mind getting a reply within the same day. In fact, using a tool like this can spark a healthier email culture. Teams who collectively adopt Inbox When Ready report feeling less stressed and reclaim hours of focused work each week that would otherwise be lost to email. If your company uses Gmail and values deep focus over always-on emailing, this extension could be a great fit.

Setup and browser compatibility

Inbox When Ready is a browser extension that works with Gmail (Google Workspace). It’s available for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge browsers. Installation is straightforward just add the extension from the Chrome Web Store or your browser’s add-on marketplace and refresh Gmail. The extension’s icon will appear in Gmail’s interface, and by default it hides your inbox messages. (Note: If your organisation uses Outlook or another email client, this tool won’t apply. The Outlook version of Inbox When Ready was discontinued due to limited demand, so Gmail is the primary use case.) After installing, spend a few minutes in the Settings to configure your preferences such as the lockout schedule and inbox check budget.

How Inbox When Ready works

When the extension is active, your Gmail inbox is hidden by default until you choose to reveal it. You’ll still see Gmail’s menu and labels, but instead of email threads there’s a blank panel or a friendly message prompting you to “Show Inbox.” This means you can compose new emails or search your mail archive without glimpsing any new incoming messages. The core idea is that you only see your inbox when you intentionally press that Show Inbox button. By keeping emails out of sight, you won’t be pulled off course by whatever is sitting in your inbox.

Inbox When Ready offers a few simple features to help you enforce this discipline. First, you can hide or reveal the inbox on demand with the toggle button. Second, you can set an auto-hide timer for example, you might allow yourself to check email, but after 10 minutes the inbox will hide itself again, nudging you back to work. Third, it lets you define an “inbox lockout schedule.” This is a timetable of hours when the inbox stays locked (e.g. you might lock it out every day before 11am to keep your mornings free for deep work). During those hours, clicking “Show Inbox” simply won’t do anything, removing the temptation entirely. Finally, you can establish an inbox budget a limit on how many times (or how long) you want to check email per day. The extension will track your inbox opens and time spent, giving you gentle feedback against your target. All of these features are configurable in a minimalist options menu. Notably, if you use Gmail’s category tabs (Promotions, Social, etc.), the Pro edition can hide those unread counts as well, ensuring nothing red or bold on the screen beckons your attention.

Tips for deep work success

Using Inbox When Ready effectively requires pairing the tool with smart habits. Here are some tactical tips for getting the most out of it:

• Schedule your email time: Decide in advance when you’ll process emails. For instance, you might unblock your inbox at 12pm and 4pm each day. Treat these like meetings with your inbox. Outside those windows, commit to not peek. This batching approach aligns with productivity best practices and prevents the “constant checking” syndrome. You’ll likely find that most emails can wait a few hours and that batching actually lets you reply more efficiently in one go.
  
  
• Use the lockout for power hours: Identify your peak focus periods (your “prime time” as some call it) and configure the scheduled lockout to cover those. For example, if mid-morning is when you do your best creative work, schedule the inbox to stay hidden until lunchtime. This creates a daily routine where you start with deep work and only later switch to reactive tasks like email. Some users even report feeling less stressed knowing they won’t see email first thing in the morning.
  
  
• Create an urgent channel: One common concern is missing something truly urgent. The workaround is to set up Gmail filters (or use Priority Inbox features) to flag important messages. For example, you could apply a label “Urgent” to emails from key clients or your boss, and configure your phone’s Gmail app to notify you only for those. That way, Inbox When Ready can hide your general inbox, but you won’t miss critical alerts your phone can still ping if an email hits the “Urgent” label. The extension’s creator suggests this method and is even testing an “inbox whitelist” feature to allow certain emails through. In practice, this means you get the best of both worlds: 99% of messages stay out of sight until you’re ready, but the truly time-sensitive 1% find you through a controlled channel.
  
  
• Mind your other devices: If you keep Gmail open on a second monitor or get constant notifications on your phone, those can undermine the benefit of Inbox When Ready. Consider turning off email badges on your phone or closing Gmail on other screens when you’re in a focus session. The goal is an environment where your attention doesn’t dart to new emails every few minutes. It may feel unusual at first, but it trains you and your colleagues to respect more asynchronous communication.
  

Setup and browser compatibility

Inbox When Ready is a browser extension that works with Gmail (Google Workspace). It’s available for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge browsers. Installation is straightforward just add the extension from the Chrome Web Store or your browser’s add-on marketplace and refresh Gmail. The extension’s icon will appear in Gmail’s interface, and by default it hides your inbox messages. (Note: If your organisation uses Outlook or another email client, this tool won’t apply. The Outlook version of Inbox When Ready was discontinued due to limited demand, so Gmail is the primary use case.) After installing, spend a few minutes in the Settings to configure your preferences such as the lockout schedule and inbox check budget.

How Inbox When Ready works

When the extension is active, your Gmail inbox is hidden by default until you choose to reveal it. You’ll still see Gmail’s menu and labels, but instead of email threads there’s a blank panel or a friendly message prompting you to “Show Inbox.” This means you can compose new emails or search your mail archive without glimpsing any new incoming messages. The core idea is that you only see your inbox when you intentionally press that Show Inbox button. By keeping emails out of sight, you won’t be pulled off course by whatever is sitting in your inbox.

Inbox When Ready offers a few simple features to help you enforce this discipline. First, you can hide or reveal the inbox on demand with the toggle button. Second, you can set an auto-hide timer for example, you might allow yourself to check email, but after 10 minutes the inbox will hide itself again, nudging you back to work. Third, it lets you define an “inbox lockout schedule.” This is a timetable of hours when the inbox stays locked (e.g. you might lock it out every day before 11am to keep your mornings free for deep work). During those hours, clicking “Show Inbox” simply won’t do anything, removing the temptation entirely. Finally, you can establish an inbox budget a limit on how many times (or how long) you want to check email per day. The extension will track your inbox opens and time spent, giving you gentle feedback against your target. All of these features are configurable in a minimalist options menu. Notably, if you use Gmail’s category tabs (Promotions, Social, etc.), the Pro edition can hide those unread counts as well, ensuring nothing red or bold on the screen beckons your attention.

Tips for deep work success

Using Inbox When Ready effectively requires pairing the tool with smart habits. Here are some tactical tips for getting the most out of it:

• Schedule your email time: Decide in advance when you’ll process emails. For instance, you might unblock your inbox at 12pm and 4pm each day. Treat these like meetings with your inbox. Outside those windows, commit to not peek. This batching approach aligns with productivity best practices and prevents the “constant checking” syndrome. You’ll likely find that most emails can wait a few hours and that batching actually lets you reply more efficiently in one go.
  
  
• Use the lockout for power hours: Identify your peak focus periods (your “prime time” as some call it) and configure the scheduled lockout to cover those. For example, if mid-morning is when you do your best creative work, schedule the inbox to stay hidden until lunchtime. This creates a daily routine where you start with deep work and only later switch to reactive tasks like email. Some users even report feeling less stressed knowing they won’t see email first thing in the morning.
  
  
• Create an urgent channel: One common concern is missing something truly urgent. The workaround is to set up Gmail filters (or use Priority Inbox features) to flag important messages. For example, you could apply a label “Urgent” to emails from key clients or your boss, and configure your phone’s Gmail app to notify you only for those. That way, Inbox When Ready can hide your general inbox, but you won’t miss critical alerts your phone can still ping if an email hits the “Urgent” label. The extension’s creator suggests this method and is even testing an “inbox whitelist” feature to allow certain emails through. In practice, this means you get the best of both worlds: 99% of messages stay out of sight until you’re ready, but the truly time-sensitive 1% find you through a controlled channel.
  
  
• Mind your other devices: If you keep Gmail open on a second monitor or get constant notifications on your phone, those can undermine the benefit of Inbox When Ready. Consider turning off email badges on your phone or closing Gmail on other screens when you’re in a focus session. The goal is an environment where your attention doesn’t dart to new emails every few minutes. It may feel unusual at first, but it trains you and your colleagues to respect more asynchronous communication.