Let's face it: Gmail is one of the most popular email applications in the world, and there are lots of add-ons that have the potential to make it even better. Here are some of the best tips that will help boost your email productivity.
USE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
To save time, use keyboard shortcuts to compose a new message, search emails faster, browse through conversations, select the desired contact(s), flag spammy messages, forward emails, and many more. You can find a detailed list with all the shortcuts in this infographic: https://visual.ly/community/infographic/how/minimalistic-gmail-cheat-sheet
USE SEVERAL GMAIL ACCOUNTS
Did you know that you can be logged into several Gmail accounts at the same time? Simply open a new browser tab for your second and/or third account, and then log in normally.
PREVENT MALWARE
As you probably know, some applications require access to your Gmail account. And while some of them request access for legitimate purposes, their makers' servers may get hacked, so your account(s) may get compromised.
Fortunately, it is easy to find out which apps have access to your Gmail account; choose "Security", and then "Apps with account access" to see them all. Examine the list, and then revoke access to all third-party apps that aren't important for you.
BLOCK UNWANTED SENDERS
Did you know that you can send undesired messages straight to Gmail's spam folder? To do that, open the unwanted email, activate the menu on the right side of the screen, and then choose "Block Sender". From now on, those spammy email senders won't bother you anymore.
UNDO SENT EMAILS
Actually, we can't undo sent emails; the technology doesn't allow us to do that. However, some applications, including Gmail, have incorporated a handy feature, which won't send out our emails right away. To benefit from it, click the gear icon to go to the "settings" page, and then set the "undo sent message" interval to the desired value (5 to 30 seconds). From now on, whenever you send a new message, you will see an "undo" link at the bottom of the screen. Click that link to prevent the message from being delivered, and then edit it to your liking or delete it.
ARCHIVE MESSAGE THREADS
You will find this option in General -> Send and Archive. Activate it, and then you will be able to archive entire threads by clicking the icon that looks like a file box with an arrow pointing down to it. This way, the old message threads won't get in the way.
CREATE A BAJILLION EMAIL ADDRESSES USING A SINGLE ACCOUNT
Let me tell you a secret: Gmail ignores any period in any email address name. This means that emails which are sent to johndoe@gmail.com, john.doe@gmail.com and j.o.h.n.d.o.e@gmail.com will go to the same person's inbox, get it? Use this flexibility to separate work-related emails from personal mail, for example. Send your colleagues the john.doe@gmail.com email address, and then give your friends and relatives the johndoe@gmail.com address. This will make it very easy to filter all the emails that come from both sources.
USE GMAIL'S POWER SEARCH
It isn't difficult to find things fast in Gmail, especially if you master the advanced search operators. Believe it or not, Google's search technology is available in Gmail as well! To benefit from it, click the down arrow that's placed near the search box, and then you will be able to use search operators such as from, to, subject, OR, AROUND, label, attachment, drive, document, spreadsheet, presentation, filetype, hyphen, and many more.
These are just a few of the many top-rated Gmail productivity tips. Start using them today, and we guarantee that you're going to love them!