The problem with this is that it isn't a model of an inbox -- it's a model of a to-do list to which anybody but you can add items. What you really want to do is process an email into something besides an email -- by quickly responding to it, by rephrasing it as a to-do item, by trashing it, or by 'hitting snooze' and getting a reminder in a day or a week.
Your inbox is for messages; it's a way to see what people are saying to you. As messages leave the inbox, they should be transformed into something that tells you what people want from you.
I have been wanting this functionality for my mailbox since quite sometime.
I managed to get a very small fraction of it done in Thunderbird through tagging and filters. I pretty much generate a Todo list out of the messages by tagging.
But I want more: reminders for these items; setting a deadlines and the amount of time it takes to finish items so that they will get auto-arranged and they present themselves when I have to pay attention.
It should not be that hard to get this done by integrating calendar right into the inbox. I have thought of doing this as a Thunderbird add-on, just haven't gotten around to doing it.
One of the topics I saw among the comments was a means of distinguishing something that needed to be done and done now (urgent / important).
I propose a solution. Allow people to send you what I call a PEmail. This is an email with a very specific project outlined. Instead of just a subject line, the PEmail has a subject line for the project's name and a time due line. Your email client then automatically organizes the incoming PEmails by when the project is due.
On a related note: I'm running an experiment on what people miss most in an email client. Currently Snooze This Message and the ability to add private notes to emails are winning.
Would be interesting to see what a more tech oriented crowd thinks, so feel free to vote - or add your own ideas.
For snoozing I use http://www.iwantsandy.com. Works really well - just forward the email and add "r me in two days", and two days later you get an email with a reminder. For private notes, I forward the mail to myself and add notes in the body, and Gmail recognizes it as part of the same conversation.
To deal with emails like "cake on my desk", how about a "not relevant after $TIME" tag?
I know the cake won't last, so why I would tag it for automatic deletion after 3 hours. Anyone who misses the email won't have to waste time deleting it later.
Exactly. A simple vote up and down system has completely changed the way news are shared online. The same can be done for your email. I am sure someone has already developed such a plugin for her/himself, or is currently working on it.
A categorized Twitter could be the answer to too much email!
Allow me to group followers into categories. Business, family & friends, social media community, etc. It forces us to get to the point in 140 characters and should continue such, but add a link to view more of what the communication received from a follower says(still keeping a character limit)... if I choose to do so.
There's only two quadrants for me: important or unimportant.
An important email is something work-related or an email from a significant other.
If it's important I read/respond immediately then archive it. All unimportant emails get archived instantly. This keeps my inbox empty and my mind at ease.
If I'm bored, I'll read the unimportant emails.
This system is simple and makes life a little less complicated.
Your inbox is for messages; it's a way to see what people are saying to you. As messages leave the inbox, they should be transformed into something that tells you what people want from you.