Organizing and conquering my Gmail account through Gmail settings is a priority in my business. I keep up with several Gmail accounts at a time. Juggling the inbox and all the requests could be a stressful experience if I didn’t have some nifty tools in place. Using Gmail settings to customize my inbox keeps me ‘out of the weeds’ and my clients happy.

The green industry entrepreneur has several balls (emails) coming in from all directions. Keeping a system for your inbox will be crucial to staying on top of each project and communicating with each client on a timely basis.  I will share my top five secrets to staying ‘out of the weeds’ and organized.

Start with Gmail Settings

Tag Your Gmail with Icons/Stars

Most start with the default Gmail settings. Using the default settings is fine for beginners but customizing your inbox is like wearing the right shoe size. No size fits all. Take some time to familiarize yourself with your Gmail settings. What’s ‘under the surface’ will drive what’s in your face every day! For instance, in General Settings> Stars you can drag up the icons of stars and symbols to use in tagging your emails. For important emails I don’t want to get buried, I use the yellow exclamation point. If I have a question about something and am waiting for a reply, I use the purple question mark. If these emails are sitting in your Gmail inbox for further follow-through, keep these symbols handy and use them.

Segregate Sections

If the inbox looks like a blur, segregate. Under General Settings>Inbox>Inbox sections>Prioritize into sections. Click Options and decide how many emails to allow in that section. The icon/stars will segregate into this area automatically.

Default Tabs. The default method is also helpful by segregating the Gmails under tabs. Go to General Settings> Labels>Categories. Click five category tabs preferred. You can move one email into another tab if you just grab the email and drop it into another tab. At some point, I’m hoping Google sees the need to give options in labeling our tabs.

Conversations View

The great thing about Gmail is that it groups your emails all in one group so if there’s been a conversation going back and forth, you can follow the trail all in one click. But you have to turn this feature on under General Settings>Conversation View> On. I have found this to be a great decluttering method.

Bypassing the Inbox

If you get a monthly newsletter and don’t have time to read it each time bypass your inbox with a filter. Set up a folder for the email if you want to keep them. Go to General Settings>Filters and Blocked Addresses>Create a new filter. Set up the filter and save.

Chatty Cathy

If you are sending short one-line emails to staff or your virtual assistant, it is convenient to use the chatbox instead to keep your inbox decluttered. It is a modern-day ‘Instant Message’ or an easy way to text through your inbox. Turn this feature on in Gmail settings. Go to General Settings>Labs>Right-side chat.

With these five easy organizational settings in place, you are on your way to better organization in your inbox. If you’d like more help with keeping your inbox clean and staying ‘out of the weeds’, give me a shout. I can help with this and a whole lot more. Check out my services here.