When gmail launched its snooze feature in April 2018, it was welcome news for those with particularly busy inboxes. Simply put, the snooze feature allows users to delay the time emails appear in their inbox, which means you can stagger the flow of your incoming mail at a speed that suits you.
With the number of emails most of us will be receiving in 2022, there are sure to be at least a few emails we’ll want to put off. but if you’ve never used this feature before, it’s easier said than done. So, in this post, we’ll cover what the repeat feature actually does, how to use it, and ultimately make it a natural part of your gmail workflow.
what does snooze mean in gmail?
Before the snooze feature was released, heavy gmail users had no choice but to let their inboxes fill up at a natural rate. they had no way to control the flow of messages, and often found themselves with a full inbox every time they logged into their accounts.
but the snooze feature (a small icon at the top of every incoming message) allows gmail users to delay sending the email and ensure that the message reappears at a specified later time .
The feature is only accessible through your inbox, so you can’t snooze an email while reading it (unlike the email reminders feature in the right inbox).
why use gmail snooze feature?
gmail repeat is best suited for very active gmail members, i.e. those with very busy inboxes. essentially, it helps users regulate the flow of their incoming messages so that on a day when their inbox fills up quickly, they can set a number of their messages to show up later.
The only danger of the snooze function is that if it is used too much, the problem of a busy inbox does not necessarily solve itself. instead, users could end up creating an endless backlog of messages that never get addressed.
how to use gmail echo
step 1. log in to your gmail account.
step 2. go to your inbox and locate the email you want to postpone.
step 3. click the snooze icon towards the right side of the email preview.
step 4. select one of the default repeat options: tomorrow, this weekend, or next week.
step 5. Alternatively, click select date and time to choose your own delay and click save.
Step 6. Once the alarm delay has been saved, you will see a confirmation popup on the bottom left of the screen. now is your chance to undo the command if you made a mistake.
Step 7. The selected email will now be gone from your inbox and will reappear at the date and time you specified.
Similar features in the right inbox but better
the right inbox offers a much better alternative to snooze emails. email reminders allow users to manage their emails until a later date. Email Reminders for Gmail is free to use and takes your Gmail experience to the next level. you can see how it works below:
email reminders in gmail
Email Reminders allows you to set reminders for incoming and outgoing mail so you’ll be alerted at a later date. it’s just a little extra work than clicking snooze, but it will help you regulate the flow of your emails just the same. Plus, you can set reminders from within the messages themselves, which Gmail doesn’t offer.
to set a reminder on an incoming message:
1. In your inbox, open the message you want to address later.
2. look for the reminder button at the top of the message.
3. select the delay time you want to be reminded of the email.
4. Alternatively, select at a specific time to set a specific time.
5. Click set reminder.
6. Once you’ve set your reminder, a confirmation popup will appear at the bottom left of the screen.
7. Your email reminders can be located in the to remind you folder in the left menu.
email notes in gmail
Email reminders work effectively in conjunction with email notes, allowing users to add a quick message to incoming or outgoing mail.
to set a note for incoming mail:
1. go to your inbox and open the email you want to add a note to.
2. at the top of the email, select the note button.
3. Write your note in the space provided.
4. click save note
5. emails with notes can be located in the notes folder in the left menu.
recently, gmail has started to offer users more project management features. snooze is one such feature, allowing heavy gmail users to regulate the speed at which they need to serve incoming mail.
While putting off emails can be helpful, having a full email productivity tool like the right inbox lets you get more out of gmail. reminders and notes are not the only features on offer. the right inbox allows users to configure email templates, recurring emails, email scheduling, and email tracking.
locate your postponed emails
If, for whatever reason, you need to retrieve an email you’ve put off, you can easily access it in your gmail menu.
simply scroll down to the snooze folder where you’ll find all the items you’ve set to snooze.
how to snooze a gmail email on a mobile device
Step 1. Open the gmail app on your mobile device.
Step 2. Open the email you want to postpone.
Step 3. Tap the three dots (plus) at the top right of the screen.
step 4. touch sleep.
step 5. select an option to delay your email from the preset options:
- tomorrow morning
- this weekend
- next week
step 6. You can also schedule the message to arrive on a specific date and time.
Step 7. Define the exact date and time you want to receive the email again.
step 8. click save.
Step 9. Your email will now be sent to your snooze folder until it is forwarded to you at the date and time you specified.
how to search snooze emails in gmail on a mobile device
scroll through the postponed folder
step 1. open the gmail app on your smartphone.
Step 2. Tap the menu (three horizontal lines) at the top left of the screen.
step 3. tap the postponed folder where you will find all the emails you have postponed.
step 4. To locate an email in the postponed folder, scroll through the messages until you find the one you want.
how to disable gmail repeat
step 1: go to your snooze folder on the left side of your gmail inbox. this folder contains all your postponed emails.
Step 2: Once inside the snooze folder, go to the email you want to cancel. Hover over the email and click the snooze icon on the right side.
Step 3: You will see a dropdown menu. click the cancel alarm option at the bottom.
and ready. your email will be postponed and reappear in your inbox.
gmail replay not working
gmail replay sounds great in theory. but what if the replay function doesn’t work? There have been many reports of users having trouble getting their gmail replay to work properly.
some common problems are:
- snooze only appears on the mobile app version
- emails are accidentally canceled
- gmail doesn’t allow you to snooze an email due to glitches user interface
Of course, this may result in you not responding to an important email in a timely manner. The consequences can range from missing a lunch date with a friend, paying the bill late (and being charged extra fees), to losing a potential customer altogether.
so how do we avoid this? By using the right inbox, you get the same functionality as gmail repeat without worrying about performance issues.
The right inbox allows you to set email reminders. these reminders won’t hide your emails either, which means you get the best of both worlds: you can be sure that you’ll respond to emails in a timely manner, without them disappearing if you want to reply sooner.