11 Gmail Productivity Tips to Become a Gmail Power User

About 92% of startups choose Gmail for their emails. Why? Well, that’s because it’s affordable, reliable, and offers lots of features.

So in this guide, we’ll discuss these features in detail, so you can unlock the complete potential of Gmail. And to do so, we’ll share the top 11 Gmail productivity tips with you. These include:

1. Using Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts
2. Creating Email Templates
3. Incorporating Email Signatures
4. Setting Up Rules
5. Setting Up Reminders
6. Sorting Emails By Labels
7. Using Google Drive with Gmail
8. Integrating Productivity Apps
9. Using Undo & Schedule Send Features
10. Automating Cleaning 
11. Muting Conversations

We won’t just reveal a new feature of Gmail to you, but we’ll also guide you on how you can make the best of it. Let’s get started.

1. Use Keyboard Shortcuts

Gmail offers keyboard shortcuts for its users. These shortcuts save loads of time as you get used to them and make your hand movement on the keyboard easy and ergonomic.

Here’s a list of shortcuts that Gmail lets you use. Another way to access this list is to press Shift and ? keys simultaneously within the Gmail interface. The following window will pop up on your screen:

How To Enable Shortcuts In Gmail?

1. Click on the Gmail’s settings icon
2. Click See All Settings
3. Scroll down to locate Keyboard Shortcuts in the General Settings tab
4. Click on the second option, i.e., turn it on
5. Save Changes

Note that if you have multiple Gmail accounts, you’ll have to enable shortcuts for each of them.

2. Create Email Templates

Email templates save the time you invest in typing similar text over and over. You can compose a general draft, save it as a template, and make minor edits every time you send it to a specific recipient. This is particularly useful for email marketers.

Alternatively, you can use an email template builder that’s compatible with Gmail. They allow you to send HTML emails in Gmail without coding and make styling your emails super convenient.

Note: At a time, you can save up to 50 templates.

How To Enable Gmail Templates?

1. Click on the gear icon for settings
2. Click on See All Settings
3. Scroll down to locate Templates under the Advanced tab
4. Choose Enable
5. Save changes

3. Incorporate Email Signatures

Some experts consider email signatures to be one of the fundamental rules of email. These are small blocks of branding text at the end of your emails. They make your emails look professional. An email signature generally includes:

• Your name
• Job title
• Company name
• Social handles

It saves you the time and effort of communicating who you are and what you do each time you send out a business email. It also increases the impact of your emails, making it easier for interested prospects to contact you.

How To Enable Email Signatures In Gmail?

1. Click on the settings icon
2. Click on See All Settings
3. Scroll down to locate Signature under the General Settings tab
4. Click on Create New and add your details

4. Set Up Gmail Filters

Finding certain emails from the tons of messages sitting in your Gmail inbox may consume hours. 

Studies suggest this time-consuming search process also adds to stress. To keep this from happening, create filters in Gmail. They help you pick out emails from a specific sender or containing a certain keyword with a single click. You can also use filters to automatically do the following with your emails:

• Skip the inbox
• Mark as read
• Forward it to
• Always categorize as
• Delete it 
• Star it
• Apply a label

Just be careful when adding keywords for the filter. If you add vague terms like Update on Project, there’s a chance you’ll miss out on important emails. So be as specific as possible. For example “Update on Go Green Project” is a better choice. You also have the option to delete a filter if you no longer use it.

How To Set Up Filters In Gmail?

1. Sign in to the Gmail account you want to create filters for
2. Type your keywords in the search bar
3. Click on the Show Search Options icon on the right side of the bar
4. Add specifics as shown in the image above.
5. Click on Create Filter

The good thing about filters is that they work as well on the Gmail app for mobile as they do on a desktop. 

5. Set Up Reminders

Gmail is also capable of boosting your productivity by removing any chances of forgetfulness. If you don’t want to get back to an email right away, you can count on Gmail’s nudge feature to take care of it for you.

Once you enable the feature, you’ll receive timely reminders to get back to emails along with a suggested response. In this way, you’ll never find yourself accidentally ghosting an opportunity when you’ve got too much on your plate. 

How To Enable Gmail Nudge?

1. Click on the Settings icon
2. Scroll down to locate Nudges under the General Settings tab
3. Check both boxes and save changes

If you want to set up a reminder for a specific email, you might want to try Gmail add-ons, like Gmelius, Right Inbox, or Hiver. These tools come in handy when you’ve typed an email but don’t want to send it immediately. You can set up reminders to consider your email at a later time. 

6. Sort Emails By Labels

Labels in Gmail work the same as folders in other email providers. They help categorize and sort your emails according to the sender, subject, or content, which saves search time on your end. 

The default labels (also mentioned as Categories in General Settings) categorize emails according to the email type. Advertising emails are automatically categorized under the Promotions label. Emails related to any activity on your linked accounts get categorized under the Updates label.

You can categorize your emails under these labels or create your own. Note that you will have to manually sort the received emails for the new labels. 

How To Set Up Labels On Gmail?

1. Select any message in your inbox
2. Click on the tag-like Labels icon that appears right below the search bar
3. Click on Create New
4. Set up the name of the label — you can create a sub-label as well

7. Use Google Drive For Quick Attachments

Gmail offers collaborative apps that cut down your work by half. Unlike other email inboxes, you don’t have to import and export files in Gmail.

Instead, you can directly share data from Google Drive. Just click on the small GDrive icon in the message window.

You won’t have to wait for the file to upload, and you can attach files as large as 10GB.

Obviously, you can also integrate Gmail with third-party hosting platforms or cloud content management platforms. One of them is Box that offers other premium features compared to Google Drive.

8. Integrate Productivity Apps

Switching between apps, copying information here and there, responding to teammates on five different apps, and marking your presence on a different app. We all do these and know what time wastes they are.

Gmail offers a smart way to integrate all of your productivity apps. This lets you sync data and collaborate through different platforms via Gmail without switching tabs.

Some common tools that work with Gmail include:

• Slack
• Trello
• Right Inbox
• Docusign
• Zoom
• Boomerang
• Evernote
• Asana
• Voila Norbert

How To Integrate A Workspace With Gmail?

1. Go to Chrome Web Store
2. Search for your respective workspace
3. Click Add to Chrome
4. Click Add extension

9. Use Undo & Schedule Send Features

Waiting for the right time to send an email is an unnecessary burden. Use the scheduling feature of Gmail. Your emails will be automatically delivered on the desired date and time. 

Email automation is also great from a marketing point of view because businesses that use automation to nurture prospects experience a 451% increase in qualified leads.

Similarly, you can use the undo feature to secure your email exchange. At times, you may be in a hurry and send an email to the wrong recipient. Or you might send one with typos or grammar mistakes. You can avoid this by setting up a longer email-undo timer. 

How To Schedule An Email In Gmail?

1. Compose a message
2. Click on the white downward arrow next to Send at the bottom of the compose window
3. Pick a date, day, and time to schedule

How To Undo Sent Gmail Messages?

1. Click on the settings icon
2. Scroll down to locate Undo under the General Settings tab
3. Choose the desired duration of undo (from 5 – 30 seconds)
4. Now whenever you send an email, a notification to “Undo” will pop up

10. Automate Cleaning

Email overload can reduce productivity, which is why keeping your inbox clean and organized is a good way to stay productive.

You can manually clean junk emails by selecting emails and deleting them. These will land in the Trash, where the deleted emails stay for 30 days. After that, they are permanently deleted. 

You can also automate your Gmail’s cleaning by blocking unwanted senders. Their emails will get directed to Spam folders, where the emails stay for 30 days before being permanently deleted.

11. Mute Conversations

This last one of the advanced Gmail tips will perhaps contribute most to your productivity: muting incoming messages.

Sometimes, email exchanges between co-workers keep popping up, distracting and stressing you out. These emails aren’t always relevant to you, they can sometimes be important. And you can’t simply ignore them or block their senders. 

An effective way of dealing with these emails is to mute them. You can check up on them once every 24 hours voluntarily. Instead of letting them overwhelm you with constant notifications.

How To Mute Messages In Gmail? 

1. Select a message.
2. Click on the three dots that say More
3. Click on Mute

And That’s A Wrap on Gmail Productivity Tips, Folks!

We hope the Gmail tips listed above help you make the most of Gmail. Keep in mind that no tool will boost your productivity as much as self-discipline.

So turn off mobile notifications, set aside intrusive thoughts, create a practical schedule, and make the most out of your day with these Gmail productivity tips!