Automating email management – how to prioritize, respond, and organize your Gmail mailbox

Practical tips for sorting out your overflowing mailbox

Is it possible to efficiently handle your crammed email box?

Sure, you just need to automate a few features.

Keeping your inbox clean is like having a tidy desk.

Its organization is the key to efficient work flow and proper time management.

Sorting and labeling incoming emails will help you avoid missing important deadlines or overlooking interesting offers.

Additionally, through various advanced Gmail features you can easily save time on writing repetitive email responses.

Since I started digging deeper into the topic of productivity I can’t imagine not having a proper mailbox system.

Checking and replying to emails is a part of my daily routine and I want it to be as smooth as possible.

What can be automated in your Gmail mailbox?

There are a few Gmail options that make my life easier when it comes to email organization.

All you need to do is set certain features beforehand and then be more efficient each time you write or receive an email.

Here is what I do:

Labeling incoming emails

Gmail allows you to automatically filter and categorize incoming emails.

You can sort them by subject, sender or date. If needed you can access customized filters and catergorize them in even more detailed manner.

In the search box I click the horizontal lines that are on the right side.

I fill in the information that I want my filter to be based on and click ‘create filter’.

Then the options are endless.

I can forward the email, star it, label, mark as read and many others.

To keep my inbox clean I label my emails based on the senders and the work area they relate to.

This way I right away can see what the message most likely refers to before even opening it.

If I later need to search for some information in my mailbox, having all emails categorized also makes it quicker and easier.

Creating templates for email responses

Throughout the week I send a lot of emails regarding similar topics or having an alike structure.

Those mostly concern meeting requests, marketing campaigns or just providing follow-ups to the previous conversations.

Instead of retyping the text each time, I just create practical templates and apply them when needed.

To create templates I first need to enable them in the advanced options of Gmail.

Then in the compose window I click three dots in the right lower corner, click ‘templates’ button and save the draft of the text as a new template.

Next time I’m writing a similar mail I just access the pre-prepared templates – I again click on the three dots, access the templates and choose my outline among the saved options.

Scheduling emails

My work time is flexible, therefore I sometimes read or reply to emails outside of the standard working hours.

I don’t want to send messages to the clients late at night, so here the scheduling option on Gmail comes in handy.

It’s very simple:

In the composition window next to the ‘send’ button I click the down arrow symbol.

Then I put the time of date and time of the day that I want my mail to be sent.

And done.

Adding events to the calendar

In order not to forget about any important meetings or tasks I always put them in my Google calendar.

I learnt if I don’t do it right away I will most likely miss them.

When sending an email regarding a meeting, I can already schedule it and include the invitation in the body of the text by clicking ‘set up time to meet’ in the lower bar in the composition window.

New Gmail option also allows you to send the suggestion for the time of the meeting (instead of a one set option) based on the free spots in your calendar.

I find it very useful to do it all in one tab and not go back and forth between the applications.

Conclusions

Organizing a mailbox might seem like a tedious task, but it actually isn’t.

Once you do it, you can enjoy it for a long time and just add some small alterations along the way.

I heard many times that being overly organized leaves no space for spontaneity or creativeness.

When it comes to the professional part of my life I totally disagree.

Having every day work aspects in order helps me free my time to do the things that matter more at my job.

Automate your mailbox and don’t waste time or put too much effort into something that can be done effortlessly.

For more productivity tips check out my other articles!

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