use an email client – ​​Adventures in Linux and KDE

One of the many benefits of going to in-person sprints is that you get to see how other people use their computers, and you can learn some workflow tricks from them. Or you can point out areas of inefficiency and share tips of your own.

This post will be about the latter, on the subject of email.

Because during the sprint I saw several people using email on their laptops in ways that were slow or ineffective:

• Sign in to webmail in a web browser
• Switch between multiple webmail sites to manage multiple email accounts
• Click buttons in the webmail UI to delete or reply to messages

If you recognize yourself here, there is a better way, I promise. 🙂 And I would love to help you achieve it!

Back in 2024 I wrote about my email workflow and offered some general tips for managing email overload in KDE. I am going to write more in depth about this topic, starting today with…

Use an email client application.

KDE has one: KMail. If it works well for you, use it! If not, use Thunderbird instead it is good. Don’t feel guilty for not using a piece of KDE software. No one is going to excommunicate you from KDE! I officially give you permission.

Maybe you use an email client on your computer but haven’t set one up on your travel laptop yet? Well, it’s time!

Because the important part is to consistently use an email client app of some kind. Why?

Much better for multiple accounts

Most of us have 2 or more email accounts. With webmail, this becomes a pain that scales linearly with the number of accounts.

An email client app lets you manage multiple accounts’ emails in one UI. When all your accounts are managed from one app, your brain doesn’t have to learn and remember multiple UIs, and opening new email accounts doesn’t scale the mental load at all.

Faster to use

An email client app lets you interact with emails using learnable and consistent keyboard shortcuts. Processing emails this way is super fast, so you can quickly finish and get back to something useful. Email sucks; life is too short to waste time on it.

Easier access

You can easily access the email client app using the Task Switcher, Overview, or Alt+Tab, rather than having those webmail tabs buried among your 75 normal browser tabs and 10 pinned tabs.

Easier to exit email mode

Exit the email client application when you want to stop receiving emails.

For webmail, you’re tempted to leave it open forever in a tab, which means to avoid being constantly tortured with email notification, you’ll have to turn it off completely, so you stop noticing emails when they arrive. This is problematic for the “keep my email open all day” approach where the whole point is to be able to execute new emails immediately so they don’t pile up.

Using an app that can be turned off also makes it easier to be a “check email once a day” kind of person, if that’s your jam. Open the app, check your email, save the important ones, delete or archive them all, then close the app. You can cut out 5-20 minutes for email, be email free for the rest of the day, and still stay on top of everything!

Using good tools is enjoyable

Imagine trying to manage versions or debug code without git or gdb. It would take ages and the results would not be so good. Proficiency with these tools makes you feel like a bird soaring above the clouds or a mage effortlessly wielding powerful magic, not a clod stumbling around in the mud.

Email clients are the same way. Learn powerful tools to strengthen your professional skills and feel better about the process of participation in KDE, not just the outcomes.

The Thunderbird email client is the foundation of my email system. In conjunction with other techniques – which I briefly described in the previous post and will elaborate in more detail over the coming weeks – this is my email situation at the moment:

These are all my emails across 5 accounts. Here are just my KDE emails:

As you can see, it’s completely manageable. It takes virtually no effort to keep it that way, and there’s no feeling of dread when checking emails in the morning. If you’re drowning in email, you can come here too, I promise.

It starts with using an email client. If you don’t already use one regularly, it will require upfront work, and some retraining, but it’s worth it: you’ll spend less time and mental resources on email and more of it on what actually matters — without take the easy way out of neglecting email and being perceived as difficult to contact or untrustworthy.

So start today KMail or Thunderbird!