# Set up email rules to filter, sort, and forward my mail

A folder structure and step-by-step filter rules for your email app so the right messages land in the right place automatically.

- Topic: Productivity & Planning
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Email, Communication, Fill-in Template, Step-by-step
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/set-up-email-rules-to-filter-sort-and-forward-my-mail

## Prompt

```text
Help me set up email rules so my inbox sorts itself.

**Email app:** [e.g. "Gmail", "Outlook desktop", "Outlook web", "Apple Mail"]
**Account type:** [personal / work / shared mailbox]
**What floods my inbox:** [e.g. "newsletters", "system alerts", "invoices", "client emails mixed with team chatter"]
**Messages that must reach me fast:** [senders, keywords, or types]
**Messages that should go to someone else:** [what, and to whom]
**Folders or labels I already use:** [LIST or "none"]

Give me:
1. A simple folder or label structure (no more than 8), with what goes in each.
2. A rules table: Rule name | Condition (sender, domain, subject words, keywords, to/cc) | Action (label, move, mark read, forward, flag) | Order | Stop processing further rules? (yes/no).
3. Step-by-step setup for each rule in my email app, using its current menu names - if you are unsure of the exact menu path, say so and describe what to look for.
4. How to test each rule on existing mail before relying on it.
5. Pitfalls: rule order conflicts, rules that catch too much, server-side vs client-only rules, and messages important senders could miss.
6. A weekly 5-minute review habit to keep it working.

Before setting up any auto-forwarding, check: is it allowed by my organization's policy, could it send confidential or personal data outside the company, and does the recipient need everything or just a notification? Prefer forwarding within my organization over external addresses.
```

## What to fill in

- e.g. "Gmail", "Outlook desktop", "Outlook web", "Apple Mail"
- personal / work / shared mailbox
- senders, keywords, or types
- what, and to whom
- LIST or "none"

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.