how often do you check gmail settings?
The treasure trove of time-saving and productivity-enhancing features is well worth your time.
Between some of the latest improvements and older but rarely used features, here are 22 reasons to look under the hood.
1. install gmail app
Take the hassle out of downloading the dedicated gmail app on your mobile device.
While it is possible to set up gmail within a phone’s mail client, the experience is significantly reduced and many of the tricks won’t work.
the gmail app will let you do much more.
download the app for free from the google play store for android devices or app store for iphone and ipad.
2. set rules for ordering & organize mail from frequent senders
Do you get a lot of emails on certain topics or from the same senders?
Are you monitoring topics using google alerts or subscribing to newsletters you want to read later?
Instead of cluttering your inbox, create automatic rules so notifications go directly to specific folders that you can review later.
how to do it
- open an email.
- click the plus button icon (three vertical dots) in the gmail toolbar.
- choose to filter messages as these.
- select more details about how you want to group similar messages, then click create filter.
- Choose how you want to configure the filter for similar messages, and then click create filter.
3. use google meet
google meet video conferencing service is now fully integrated with gmail.
If you already rely heavily on calendar features, it’s also easy to use meet for your video calling needs.
Of course, from zoom to facetime and everything in between, there are plenty of other options, each with their pros and cons.
but when you’re in a hurry and already using gmail, calendar and the rest of google’s features, meet beats them to the punch.
learn how to use google meet in gmail here.
4. create groups of contacts to reach multiple recipients
If you often send emails to the same group of people, create groups of contacts.
This allows you to type just the name of the group in the “to” field instead of having to enter everyone’s email address each time.
and if you ever need to remember who is in a group, you can always export the addresses of group members.
how to do it
- go to google contacts.
- click contacts, frequent contacts or directory.
- select the contacts you want to include.
- click the tag icon and create a tag.
- Assign a name for the group.
5. use gmail offline
Spotty Wi-Fi?
Need to send an email on the go?
no problem, if you use ‘gmail offline’.
allows you to access, read, reply and more without an internet connection.
how to do it
You can only use gmail offline in a chrome browser, so make sure you have it on your computer.
to activate gmail offline:
- click settings, then view all settings.
- select the offline tab.
- check the enable offline mail checkbox.
- click save changes.
6. keyboard shortcuts
Save time with gmail keyboard shortcuts.
There are literally dozens of shortcuts from formatting to managing emails and more.
In addition to the default commands, you can also configure custom shortcuts.
this is a helpful guide to gmail keyboard shortcuts.
7. undo sent emails
gain peace of mind and go back in time with undo.
When enabled, a link appears to undo the sent email.
if clicked, delivery of the email stops and the email is saved to drafts.
then you can review it, edit it further or delete it.
selected the undo window (within 5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds).
how to do it
- click settings.
- go to view all settings.
- general (tab).
- set the cancellation period of shipment.
- click save changes.
8. create email templates
Also known as canned responses or prewritten emails, these templates are perfect if you have to write the same response frequently.
This can also be useful when you need to send an email to a list of people, but have minor customizations to make that prevent you from creating a group, since everyone needs to receive a slightly different version of essentially the same text.
how to do it
- click the gear icon.
- choose to view all settings.
- click advanced.
- in the settings section templates, select enable.
- click save changes.
when you need to use your template, click the “more options” button in compose to create or select the templates you want to use.
9. schedule email delivery
It can be tedious to send emails at the most appropriate times.
gmail now allows you to schedule your email delivery so your messages arrive at the best time for the recipient.
how to do it
once you’ve finished composing your email, click the more send options button right next to send.
Choose when you want to schedule the email to be sent and that’s it!
10. remove format option
How many times do you paste something into an email only to find that the formatting is messed up by transferring unwanted formats?
The next time this happens, highlight the poorly formatted text and use the remove formatting button at the bottom of the bottom toolbar.
how to do it
click on the formatting toolbar and use the remove formatting icon.
11. create reminders
Use the event creation feature to schedule follow-ups for important emails you receive.
Not only does this display the calendar seamlessly, but also in the event invite, gmail will link to the relevant email and autocomplete the event name with the email subject.
A useful app is a reminder to reply later so you don’t forget to do so.
how to: use the more buttons menu and select create event.
12. translate incoming mail
We live in an increasingly global world.
If you receive something in a language you don’t understand, you can try pasting it bit by bit into the google translate app.
or you can translate it directly in gmail.
simply click the rightmost icon, select translate message and let the algorithm translate.
13. delete emails that take up a lot of space
gmail is free only until you use up your quota.
the 15 gb of space includes all google services (with google drive, google photos, etc.)
If you’re not sure how much storage space you have left, check here.
It’s surprisingly easy to do this if you’ve used the service for more than a few years.
filtering and deleting by subject or recipient can only help you so far.
Instead, find and delete your most important emails.
how to do it
in the search bar type “size:[x number]m”. you must include the quotes.
this retrieves all messages greater than [x number] of megabytes.
14. mute conversations
Tired of seeing updates in an email thread, but still prefer to keep that email conversation for future reference?
This is a perfect opportunity to silence the conversation.
how to do it
select the silence command from the more menu.
15. forward an email as an attachment
The same menu plus has another useful feature that allows you to forward an email as an attachment.
This is useful when you need to share an email with a recipient who is not part of an email chain, which you also need to relay.
how to do it
- choose the email you want to forward
- click the more menu
- click forward as attachment.
- compose your email
- click send
16. use extensions
up your gmail game with chrome extensions.
These are some of the most popular, but don’t stop here.
Third-party tools continue to create new ways to improve gmail, so look out for more improvements.
- boomerang, allows you to schedule future emails and set reminders to send an email. maybe it’s too late to send an email. however, you may forget to do so when the time comes. now you have a solution.
- checker plus for gmail will send notifications to your desktop so you can read and delete emails, without even opening gmail.
- send your email to sms ( text ) allows you to send an email as a text message. this is perfect for when trying to contact someone on the road with patchy access to email. they may not be able to access your email, but they will see your text.
- dropbox for gmail is a great solution for sending very large attachments and saving space on google drive.
17. create a priority inbox
Often overlooked, this allows you to have that special place within your inbox for the most important items.
The feature will classify your emails according to these priorities: important and unread, starred, everything else.
how to do it
go to settings > view all settings > inbox > inbox type > priority inbox
18. use email signatures
Most of us use email signatures for work.
why not do the same for personal emails and save time?
In addition to including common goodbye phrases and/or contact details, use the signature features for common messaging situations (eg, confirming a doctor’s appointment, sending directions home).
19. gmail auto reply
Similarly, feel free to use an autoresponder.
gmail’s out of office feature allows you to set up an automatic message while you are not available.
And it doesn’t have to be just for when you’re on vacation.
Are you moving?
Visit relatives with no device policy?
Buy some time with an autoresponder.
You can even set the time when it should stop and it will come back online.
how to do it
To set up your gmail out of office or vacation reply, simply click the gear icon (settings) and select view all settings.
scroll down to the “vacation responder” section and select vacation responder on.
from there you can modify the date range, subject and message you want to use.
click save changes once you are done.
20. replace attachments with links to google drive
The longer you use gmail, the closer you are to running out of that free space.
and nothing takes up as much space as attachments, especially if you need to send them multiple times.
Instead, save the files you need and to google drive and attach the files via that icon.
Better yet, instead of submitting the file itself, include a link to it.
many times, the recipient doesn’t need the file and just needs to view or read it.
They’re fine with having a link, and they’ll also appreciate you helping them conserve their own inbox space.
21. confidentiality mode
This feature restricts what recipients can do with your email.
This is perfect when sending sensitive information.
Anyone receiving a confidential email may not print, copy, forward or download.
for added security, it is also possible to add password protection to open it and an expiration date.
how to do it
You can protect your newly composed emails by clicking the confidential mode icon at the bottom right of the window.
From there, you can set an expiration date and passcode. click save when you’re done.
22. advanced search
did you see the little dropdown menu in the search bar?
unlocks a wide range of search criteria to filter your mail more effectively.
In addition to the intuitive ‘from’, ‘to’ and ‘subject’ fields, there are several other similar words that the email does or does not contain, the date range it was received or sent, etc.
so clean up your inbox, set up rules to put their management on autopilot, and create some templates.
this will free up valuable time in your life and storage space in your gmail.
more resources:
- 19 Daily Habits That Make You Less Productive (and What to Do)
- How to Get More Done: 9 Tips to Maximize Marketing Productivity
- 9 Productivity Tips for save time on content marketing
image credits
all screenshots taken by the author, October 2020