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Constant email checking is a major productivity killer. This guide shows you how to block your inbox while keeping the ability to compose and send emails.

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The Strategy

Instead of blocking your entire email provider, block only the inbox view while allowing the compose page.

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Gmail

  1. Block: mail.google.com

Blacklist — mail.google.com blocks the entire inbox

  1. Whitelist these compose URLs:
    • mail.google.com/mail/?view=cm&fs=1&tf=1
    • mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?fs=1&tf=cm
  2. As a title fallback, also whitelist by Title: Compose Mail

Whitelist — compose URLs and title whitelisted

Bookmark https://mail.google.com/mail/?view=cm&fs=1&tf=1 in your browser favourites bar. This opens the compose window directly without loading the inbox, so you can fire off emails without getting distracted by unread messages.

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Outlook (Web)

  1. Block: outlook.live.com or outlook.office.com
  2. Whitelist: outlook.live.com/mail/compose or outlook.office.com/mail/compose

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Desktop Email Clients

For apps like Outlook desktop or Thunderbird, blocking the application entirely prevents both reading and sending. If you need to send but not read:
  1. Use the web version of your email with the URL-based approach above
  2. Block the desktop email application by process name
  3. Or schedule email access to specific times (e.g., 9 AM, 12 PM, 4 PM) using a Weekly Schedule
A popular approach: instead of partial blocking, schedule your email access. Create a plan that blocks email entirely except during 2-3 designated checking windows per day. This builds the habit of batching email.