How many unread emails do you have in your inbox? Be honest now... are you one of those with over 20? 100? 1,000?? You are not alone! Many people receive emails and never open them because they are spam or something that doesn't pertain to them. If you are looking for a few ways to organize your email experience, you've come to the right place! I spend a good chunk of time using Gmail (16% which equates to over 135 hours!) and I have put together this list of tips and tricks to help you.
1. Switch to the new Gmail
Did you know that Gmail upgraded the email experience back in 2018? Maybe you never 
took the chance to switch over, but today is the DAY! It is super easy to switch. Just look in the top right corner for the gear icon (settings). Click on it and look for the "Try the new Gmail" option. If you already have the "Go back to the original Gmail view" link, that means you are already upgraded and doing great!
Why should you upgrade? Well, the new version is super user-friendly, more visibly appealing, AND many of the options I'm about to show you aren't available in the old version. Time to upgrade!
2. Change the Density of your inbox
- Default: In the default view, you will see emails along with a good amount of space between each. There will also be a second line for any attachments showing them in the Google "Smart Chip" format. This allows you to view and open attachments without actually opening the email.
- Comfortable: Comfortable is basically the same as the Default view, but there is no second line with attachments. There is also a little less space in between each email.
- Compact: Compact view condenses your inbox to have a minimum amount of space between emails. Personally, this is what I use because I want to see as many emails as I can on the screen without having to scroll down.
3. Star Important Conversations
Is there an email conversation you want to bookmark? By using the "Starred" feature, you can make your important emails quickly accessible in the future. If the email is in your inbox, simply click on the star next to the sender's name to add it to your Starred emails.
If you have the email opened, look up to the top right corner. You will see the star icon. Click it once to add the email to your Starred emails.
To find your Starred emails, just look to the left of your inbox to see the Starred option.
It is like bookmarking all your emails to find quickly and easily at a future time!
4. Take advantage of the Inbox Type
Inbox Type: Using the pull-down, you can choose from any of the 5 inbox types. When you choose a new type, options will appear underneath. The descriptions for each are:
- Default: If you choose "Default," your inbox will be split up into different tabs, like "Primary," "Social," "Promotions," and "Updates." When you have the "Default" inbox, your messages are automatically sorted into tabs, but you can move messages among categories if you want.
- Important first: Google uses smart technology to decide what emails are important to you. If you choose this option, your inbox will be separated into two sections: "Important" at the top, and "Everything else" at the bottom.
- Unread first: This puts your inbox into two sections with "Unread" emails at the top and "Everything else" at the bottom.
- Starred first: your inbox will be separated into two sections: "Starred" at the top, and "Everything else" at the bottom.
- Multiple inboxes: Gmail will add additional sections to your inbox. You can use search operators or custom labels to create each section.
- Priority inbox: your inbox will be separated into multiple sections. You can choose which sections you want to show, including "Important and unread," "Starred," "Everything else," or a label that you have made.
Okay, now this seems overwhelming for some- I totally understand! I personally use the "Unread first." One of my strategies is to keep important emails unread so they stay at the top. The others stay at the bottom in "Everything else" so they are still visible to me. That leads to my next tip...
5. Use Archive to keep your inbox clean
Did you know that the Archive function hides emails from your inbox but doesn't delete them? You read that right! You can archive emails and then search for them later- keeping your inbox looking much less cluttered! If you want to clean up your inbox without deleting your emails, you can archive them. Your emails are moved to a label called "All Mail." It also disappears from your "unread count" in your inbox! If your email is filtered under a label, it will appear in that label even if it is unread and/or archived. Remember, you can always search for these emails later; they are not deleted they are just hidden.
Use the square button with the downward pointing arrow to archive. You can archive multiple emails at once by clicking the square next to the email to choose them. Just hit the archive button.6. Use the snooze feature
7. Use Search to your advantage
Did you know you can run a more advanced search for emails? You can specifically search for emails to or from a specific person, if it has an attachment, what date it is from, and more! In your search bar across the top of your inbox, look for the options icon on the right side. It looks like three horizontal lines with toggles. When you click on it, the below drop-down appears.
From here, you can put in specific search filters that will help narrow down what you're looking for. This can be even as simple as "Has the words..." and "Doesn't have..."!
8. Labels are the new folders!
Gmail uses labels to organize your inbox. The Inbox, Trash, Sent, and Drafts- are all labels! You can create your own labels and nest emails into them. You can add more than one label to an email AND you can even set up labels so that emails will automatically be labeled when they arrive in your inbox! How cool is that?!
Let's start with creating Labels.
In your inbox, look to the left column and search for "Labels." If your left sidebar isn't visible, make sure to click the three horizontal lines at the top left corner. Click the + next to labels. From there, type in a name for your new label. You can choose to next it under a current label or make it stand-alone. You will see the label name appear under the Label tab.
If you want to change the color or edit your label, click the three vertical dots next to your label's name!
Now, if you're feeling really fancy and you want to have labels automatically applied you can create a filter.
Click on the options icon on the right side of your search bar. You'll see the drop-down below, appear. Type in your search criteria. At the bottom of the window, click on "Create Filter." You can then choose what you'd like your filter to do!
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| From support.google.com |
For more detailed help, click the link in the photo caption! This is a great way to help streamline your organization.
9. Activate Undo Send
Yup... You read that right! Gmail offers an "UNDO SEND" option. This doesn't mean when you're sleeping 8 hours later you can open your email and pull it back... but it does give you the option to choose either 5, 10, 20, or 30 seconds after hitting send to pull it back. (Yes, I use the 30-second option!)
If you click the Undo link, the email will pop back up in your inbox as if you were still drafting it. How great is that?
10. Change the theme of your inbox
Finally, you may have noticed in some of my screenshots and possibly from some of your coworkers that people can make Gmail more personalized with different backgrounds in your inbox and different fonts for your emails.
To change the theme, just click on your settings gear and look below for "Theme." You will see lots of options if you click the "View more." You can even upload your own photos and play around with the premade options. If you see these three choices, you can change the background of the text, add a vignette, or blur the background image.
To change your default font, click on the settings gear > See all settings. Look down the page to find "Default text style." From there you can choose the font, size, and color that will automatically appear on your emails. Of course, you can always change it as you create a draft, but this way you can have a different default than Sans Serif 😴 booooorrrring!
Make sure, when you're done, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the SAVE button!
This is literally the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Gmail but definitely some fun and easy ways to make your inbox more appealing and easy to use. Try out some features and let me know how it goes!
Enjoy!
Lancy
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