4 Gmail Hacks That Will Change The Way You
Work
I’ll
be honest—I’ve had mixed feelings about Gmail. Sometimes it’s fantastic, like
when my best friend and I send each other cool links all morning while
simultaneously talking on Gchat. But other times, as I’m
watching my inbox fill up at the speed of
light, it can just be overwhelming. Gmail and I have finally come to a mutually
respectful relationship (think Kanye’s post-VMA apology to T-Swift), but it’s
been a long road. These four hacks have paved the way, and
once you’ve got them down, I promise Gmail will feel like a whole new ball
game.
As
a self-proclaimed night owl, I never really thought anyone noticed my
late-night emailing, until one morning I came into the office and my supervisor
(whom I’d emailed during a late-night catch-up binge) asked, "Were you
working at 2 a.m.?" Busted. I realized that if I wanted to be taken
seriously, it would be a lot better if my emails looked like they were being
sent at 8 a.m. instead of at 3 a.m. And then I discovered Boomerang.
Boomerang
is a Gmail app that allows you to schedule emails, set up snooze messages, and
get reminders. You can easily schedule emails to go out at any time, so it’ll
look like you’re sending something at 8 a.m. on Monday, even though you
scheduled it at 11 p.m. the night before. You can also choose to
"boomerang" emails, meaning you can mark an email to leave your inbox
and return on a certain date. Let’s say there’s a reminder for a networking
event next month and as much as you want the email, it’s cluttering your inbox.
Just choose to "boomerang" the message, so that it leaves your inbox
for now but returns two days before the event. You can also ask Boomerang to
send you a reminder if nobody replies to an email, so you’ll never forget to
follow up with people again.
Tip:
When scheduling an email, I do like to BCC myself just to be absolutely, 100%
sure that everything is getting sent out.
You
know how before cold emailing someone important, you can spend a good 30
minutes stalking their LinkedIn profile, searching for any mutual connections,
and triple-checking the spelling of their first and last name? Well, Rapportive is your new networking
best friend. This Gmail extension will pull up LinkedIn profiles right inside
of Gmail, so you can see someone’s profile alongside your message. Whether
you’re sending or receiving an email, Rapportive will give you the quick
information you need to make sure your message is accurate and well-informed.
This
new Gmail feature made headlines last week—and it’s true, whether you fired off
a nasty e-mail to your boss or any of these other five mistakes, you can now take it back.
Gmail’s new undo feature will let you unsend an email up to 30 seconds after
you hit send. To enable the feature, just click the gear in the top right-hand
corner of your Gmail window, go to Settings, scroll down to "Undo
Send", make sure the button is checked, and then save your changes.
Now
after you send an email, a yellow bar will appear at the top of your inbox,
asking if you would like to undo. I think I speak for everyone when I say this
magic button makes us breathe a huge sigh of relief.
When
my friend first told me about the Gmail keyboard shortcuts, I was underwhelmed
at the suggestion, even though she claimed she loved them. But being one
who doesn’t knock it till I try it, I decided to give them a whirl. And, oh my,
these shortcuts are a game changer. To enable them for Gmail, go to the gear on
the top right-hand corner of your main page, go to Settings, scroll down to
Keyboard Shortcuts, make sure they’re turned on, and then save your changes.
Now you can whiz through Gmail without (almost) ever leaving the keyboard. Need
to draft a new email? Just press "c." Need to mark something as
important? Just press "+." Need to mark an email unread? It’s as easy
as hitting "Shift and u." Get ready for your coworkers to be shocked
(or at least impressed) by how quickly you get through the morning emails.
By
Madison Feller, Levo League
http://www.fastcompany.com/3048504/how-to-be-a-success-at-everything/4-gmail-hacks-that-will-change-the-way-you-work?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fast-company-weekly-newsletter&position=5&partner=newsletter&campaign_date=07172015
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