Transform Your Mailbox with AI + Work in Your Sleep // Stay Ahead #01

Work smarter this week by getting AI transformation for your mailbox. Oh, and did you know that now you can work in your sleep?

Evelyn Le

Strategic Product Lead, Stay Ahead, FlexOS

With a rich background in communication research and analysis, Evelyn guides readers with expertise, offering innovative advice in the digital work.

December 5, 2023

min read

🎉 Welcome to Stay Ahead from FlexOS!

As announced last month, every Tuesday, our 'Stay Ahead' newsletter will share the latest AI tools and news to help you work smarter, not harder.

Below is this week's edition. Not a member yet? Join over 10,000 people centric managers and subscribe here.

Welcome aboard!

In this week’s edition:

AI tools of the week: Handpicked apps to streamline your inbox.
Must-read news: Stay ahead with insights that matter.
Job board: Curated hybrid and remote jobs to help you move up.

AI Tools To Boost Productivity: The Inbox Makeover

I believe in AI to work smarter, not harder.

And what better place to start than our inbox? Because 58% of people dive into emails first thing—and spend up to 5.5 hours a day reading them.

a meme of a dog sitting n middle of a fire naming "my mailbox." The other frame zooms in the dog saying "This is fine."

So let’s make the mailbox set the right good tone. Here are two tools I tested myself to streamline my inbox.

Makeover your mailbox with Clean.email

Remember those random promotions and websites you signed up for and now receive daily? It’s time to let them go.

The tool will scan your mailbox and categorize excessive emails into smart folders. Then, it will give you personalized suggestions of what to clean up and process new emails accordingly.

Clean.email is compatible with the web, iOS, and Android. It is simple, easy to use, and highly impactful.

Price: Free for basic features. Premium accounts start at $29 and include unsubscriber, screener, and auto-clean.

Skip long emails with Concisely.ai

Concisely.ai helps you get to the core message of any email.

It uses AI to give you a one-line summary of any email.

An illustration of Concisely AI summarizing an email named "What actually happened with Sam Altman and OpenAI, and What does it mean for the Future of Work??" Concisely AI summarizes: "Sam Altman was fire and rehired by OpenAI, causing shockwaves in the industry d leading to resignations and backlash, highlighting the conflict between commercializing AI products and OpenAI's mission to benefit humanity."P

Price: Concisely.ai comes as a free Chrome extension. If you’re a Mac user, check out +AI summary ($6.38/month).

In the News

Every week, we pick must-read articles about the future of work so you can stay ahead. Here are this week’s picks:

A product to help people work in their sleep.

Fortune: Lucid Dream Startup Says You Can Work In Your Sleep

There may be good news if you’ve ever felt like you could do your job in your sleep. A new startup called Prophetic is working on technology to let you do that, tapping into “Lucid Dreaming.”

CNBC: Return to office is ‘dead,’ Stanford economist says. Here’s why

Nick Bloom (who we had on the podcast recently) shares why remote work is here to stay. The Stanford professor also highlights that regardless of the media narrative, remote has many benefits, something we knew all along.

FlexOS: Generative AI at Work Research Report

We surveyed 200 knowledge workers, and nearly all said it’s positively impacting their roles. They also said tools like ChatGPT, Grammarly, and Firefly made them more productive and even taught them new skills.

Fortune: Labor Market Will Stay Tight As Shifting Demographics Keep Draining The Talent Pool

New Randstad research shows we’re getting older and the problems this will bring. Labor shortages in developed economies will persist due to an aging population and declining birth rates. This impacts workforce availability and requires strategies like AI integration and flexible work options for older employees.

FlexOS: 24 Best Leadership Conferences to Have on Your Radar in 2024

We compiled a list of the most impressive 2024 leadership conferences and events. Whether you want to level up in marketing or become a better leader, there’s something here for you—in-person and remote.

Need more AI tools to make your work and life 10x easier? Check out our Top AI Websites, Top AI Tools, How to Use AI, Free AI Tools, AI Productivity Tools, AI Recruiting, and AI Accounting.

‍Use our Prompt Generator to create 10x more powerful prompts and see more value from your ChatGPT usage.

Want to learn more about AI? Check out our guide to AI Trends, AI Statistics, AI Prediction, AI Cold Outreach, AI in Remote Work, AI in the Workplace, AI in Management, AI in HR, and Women and AI.

Jobs to Level Up

We want you to make the change we need in this world of work. And do it from wherever is best for you. Here are some jobs that caught our attention:

Need more options? WeWorkRemotely, FlexJobs and Remote’s new job board are great places to get vetted remote-friendly roles.

How did we do?

That’s it for our first edition of Stay Ahead, the newsletter that keeps you ahead in the future of work. Send an email and give us your feedback: what could we do better?
We’re here for you, truly.