The Best E-mail Workflow — No Extensions Needed (Gmail)
lifehacks·@blakeir·
0.000 HBDThe Best E-mail Workflow — No Extensions Needed (Gmail)
<html> <p>For years, I struggled with efficiently and effectively tackling my e-mail inbox. As I entered the “real” world, I knew that I couldn’t have hundreds of e-mails sitting unread for weeks at a time.</p> <p>I tried out a ton of different options, none of which worked on both mobile AND desktop. I needed to craft a solution that accounted for both. After spending hours reading about all of the different ways power-users tackle their inbox, I decided on this set-up.</p> <p>I’ve been using this set-up for almost a year now, and although my inbox isn’t at zero<em>every</em> night — it gets pretty close. I’ll cover the mobile workflow at the end of this post, as well.</p> <p>This is what your Gmail will look like by the end of the article:</p> <p><img src="https://s22.postimg.org/50cbqmnk1/1_g_VE_idm3t_Yn_CIuio_YFx_B2_Q.png" width="640" height="182"/></p> <h2><br></h2> <h2>Example Gmail workflow:</h2> <p><strong>1.</strong> Received an e-mail from Jonathon — it goes directly into my main inbox</p> <p><img src="https://s13.postimg.org/40cltixvr/1_p5_Wxe_Rn_R44_Gq_FRr_Ez_NBA.png" width="640" height="142"/></p> <p><strong>2.</strong> Open the e-mail from the main inbox.</p> <p><img src="https://s22.postimg.org/bmejxt5xt/1_y_Cf_P11l_R3oy_HNcj_FKca_O6_Q.png" width="640" height="129"/></p> <p><strong>3.</strong> At this point, I have a couple of different options.</p> <blockquote><em><strong>Option A)</strong></em> <em>I can reply immediately, and archive the e-mail.</em></blockquote> <blockquote><em><strong>Option B)</strong></em> <em>Move the e-mail to my</em> <em><strong>Action Needed</strong></em> <em>folder — so I remember to reply later.</em></blockquote> <p>In this case, I opted to do the second option.</p> <p><strong>4.</strong> Using keyboard shortcuts, I just simply pressed: “V” to open the prompt for “Move to”</p> <p><img src="https://s11.postimg.org/urp8sleo3/1_68_fsut_Ty_Vj_I7wklzz_Jo_ZQ.png" width="640" height="232"/></p> <p><strong>5.</strong> After moving to: “Action Needed” — the e-mail is out of my main inbox and now sits in my: “Action Needed” inbox</p> <p><img src="https://s13.postimg.org/t84wspm07/1_Su7_Gym8moa_Im_T0bw80q_qg.png" width="640" height="155"/></p> <p><strong>6.</strong> Once I reply to the e-mail, I would simply remove the label and the conversation would be archived.</p> <p>Do I have your attention yet? Let’s watch through the simple steps to make your inbox function like this. Also…did I mention that none of this requires extensions? It will all be done using the built-in Gmail settings.</p> <p>-------</p> <h2>Set-up for Desktop</h2> <h3>Prerequisites (Desktop):</h3> <ul> <li>Set the Display density to Compact</li> </ul> <p><img src="https://s22.postimg.org/np1651oup/1_62c7_OQT8_M3iswuxhuc_Y_Q.png" width="332" height="420"/></p> <ul> <li>Go to: Settings → Inbox<strong>,</strong> make sure the inbox type of: Default is selected (And only Primary is selected on the categories pane).</li> </ul> <p><img src="https://s11.postimg.org/v8qrifrmb/1_kl_NTBm_KKa_Dh6_QJj_MNZn_TXQ.png" width="640" height="174"/></p> <p>-------</p> <h3>Step-by-Step (Desktop):</h3> <p><strong>1.</strong> Go to the Labs tab of Settings, and enable Multiple Inboxes</p> <p><img src="https://s14.postimg.org/ufqirev3l/1_Q_DBk_Zpa_Z1_Cwgb3ixq_NKLw.png" width="640" height="161"/></p> <p>This is will allow us to create the multiple panes, that you saw above.</p> <p><strong>2.</strong> Go to the Labels tab of Settings, and create labels that you want to track.</p> <p><img src="https://s12.postimg.org/g80a2fl0d/1_Gj_I_85_UYITB8z755cy63mw.png" width="640" height="92"/></p> <p>I personally only use 3 labels: Action Needed, Later, and Waiting Response — You can always create more or less. This is completely up to you!</p> <p><em><strong>Note</strong></em><em>: I would recommend using this time to clean-up some of your other labels, that way it will be easier to designate which labels to apply.</em></p> <p><strong>3.</strong> Go to the Multiple Inboxes tab of Settings, and set-up the other inboxes.</p> <p><img src="https://s11.postimg.org/vzbg9eghv/1_LNUk24zu9_JR1yl_VBwo_VJNg.png" width="640" height="233"/></p> <p><em><strong>If you have “spaces” in your label name, replace them with “-” in the search query.</strong></em></p> <p>Using the labels I mentioned above, my search queries would look like:</p> <ul> <li><em><strong>Pane 0:</strong></em> is:action-needed</li> <li><em><strong>Pane 1:</strong></em> is:waiting-for-response</li> <li><em><strong>Pane 2:</strong></em> is:later</li> </ul> <p>Also, make sure the position for the extra panels is set to: Right side of the inbox</p> <h3>Recommended (Optional) Steps:</h3> <p><strong>1.</strong> Go to Settings → General, and turn on Keyboard Shortcuts</p> <p><img src="https://s11.postimg.org/4tccjpv2b/1_js_Vm8m_L2c_SBTql2_K_y_MJ0w.png" width="640" height="66"/></p> <p>This will allow you the ability to easily clear out your inbox via keyboard shortcuts.</p> <p>Such as: <em><strong>e</strong></em> to archive, or <em><strong>v</strong></em> to move an e-mail.</p> <p><a href="https://support.google.com/mail/answer/6594?hl=en">Full list of keyboard shortcuts can be found here.</a></p> <p><strong>2.</strong> Go to Settings → Labs, and enable Auto-Advance</p> <p><img src="https://s21.postimg.org/81dh0jbav/1_g_Li_BNsect_Lq_Mm3f_W1_BUq2_Q.png" width="640" height="192"/></p> <p>After enabling the Auto-Advance lab, go to the General tab and make sure Auto-Advance is set to: “After archiving, deleting, muting, etc. a conversation: Go to the next (newer) conversation”</p> <p><img src="https://s12.postimg.org/nz5p6sytp/1_3_AE0_O1_Fu_AKy_YEk_KHw4m7_Q.png" width="640" height="140"/></p> <p><strong>3.</strong> Go to Settings → General and enable “Undo Send”</p> <p><img src="https://s18.postimg.org/7kts54nop/1_sq_Yo_Xzp3_Lx7_SROIt_RBJYaw.png" width="640" height="77"/></p> <p>Shockingly, this isn’t on by default; however, it has saved me more times than I can count.</p> <p><strong>Now refresh…</strong></p> <p>Your inbox should look a little weird now. Especially, if you were using different inbox formats before. I promise…we are going to clean it up!</p> <p>-------</p> <h3>Getting to “Inbox Zero” for the first time…</h3> <p>This is where the majority of your time will be spent. Fortunately, if you followed the <strong>recommended</strong> steps, this shouldn’t take too long.</p> <p>To start, I personally recommend archiving all e-mails older than 14 days, unless you know for a fact that certain e-mails should be placed under one of your pre-defined labels. Once you narrow it down to just the last 14 days, start at the oldest e-mail and use keyboard shortcuts to sort through the e-mails quickly.</p> <p>Within each e-mail decide whether it should be moved to one of the other inboxes (using the <em><strong>v</strong></em> keyboard shortcut) or archived (using the <em><strong>e</strong></em> keyboard shortcut).</p> <p>If you have auto-advance enabled, it will automatically advance to the next e-mail in your inbox (until you are at zero). I follow this workflow daily with e-mails that I receive from the night prior, and it helps tremendously with ensuring my inbox remains <em>close</em> to zero.</p> <p>-------</p> <h3>Bonus: Mobile Workflow for Outlook</h3> <p>Given the fact that we are using <strong>labels</strong> to designate which “inbox” each e-mail belongs in, this solution works quite well on mobile devices.</p> <p>I personally use <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-outlook-email-calendar/id951937596?mt=8">Microsoft Outlook on iOS</a>.</p> <p>The workflow on mobile is very similar to desktop; however, we will actually be able to utilize the <strong>swipes</strong> feature of Outlook.</p> <h3>Step-by-Step (Mobile)</h3> <p><strong>1.</strong> Go into the Settings tab of Outlook and adjust the Swipe Options</p> <p><img src="https://s13.postimg.org/qqa4qlwcn/1_Kav_He_Xt9_Fa_A9x_CMws_Llt2w.png" width="359" height="640"/></p> <p><strong>2.</strong> Adjust the left the Swipe Left option to Move, instead of Schedule</p> <p><img src="https://s18.postimg.org/cnhtfyd89/1_Lm_D8_X2_ng_SB0w_Qbo_Qe_ALw.png" width="359" height="640"/></p> <p><strong>It is</strong> <em><strong>that</strong></em> <strong>simple!</strong></p> <p>Now when e-mails arrive on mobile you can archive them swiping <strong>right</strong> OR move to other inboxes by swiping <strong>left.</strong></p> <p>When you swipe left on e-mails, you will see this screen, where you can specify which folders you want to move the conversation to.</p> <p><img src="https://s22.postimg.org/uter973zl/1_wu_GKo_VU9_XTfn_DDh0_CX32bg.png" width="359" height="640"/></p> <p>Hopefully these steps help you gain a better control of your inbox! Let me know if you have any questions, feedback, etc. <a href="http://twitter.com/blakeir">I’m excited to hear from you.</a></p> </html>
👍 blakeir,