15 Gmail Tips for Higher Productivity in 2022

Gmail or Google Mail is a top-rated email service worldwide. Considering its reliability and capabilities, it’s  no wonder why many individuals and organizations prefer using it over others. 

While Gmail is already fully functional out of the box, there are still optional features that users can enable  themselves. If you’re interested in learning these things, please read on. In this guide, we’d listed 15 Gmail tips for higher productivity, plus a recommendation regarding Gmail in Mac. 

1. Use Gmail Offline 

While Gmails needs an internet connection to fully function, you can still access it offline. In the process, it  will download emails so you can view and reply to messages even when offline. To enable and use Gmail offline,  please follow these steps: 

1. Download or open Chrome browser (it will make offline more reliable) and open a regular tab (Gmail  offline won’t work with incognito or private tab). 

2. Visit Gmail and bookmark it (Gmail offline requires a bookmark to work).

3. Open Gmail, click the gear icon, and then the “See all settings” button. 

go to gmail settings

4. Click the “Offline” text and check the “Enable offline mail” option. 

enable offline mail

5. Click the dropdown to set email duration and check the option to download attachments. In “Security,”  select an option and hit “Save Changes” to proceed. 

offline settings

2. Undo Sent Emails 

By default, Gmail provides 5 seconds for a user to undo a sent email. However, if 5 seconds is too short, you  can change it by following these steps: 

1. Under Settings, in “General,” look for the “Undo Send” section. 

2. Choose from 5, 10, 20, or 30 seconds undo time. Scroll down and press the “Save Changes” button.

undo sent messages

3. Send an email. Click the “Undo” text in the popup to undo the email. 

click on undo text in gmail

3. Email Schedule 

In many cases, users need to wait for a specific time to send emails. Luckily, Gmail provides an easy way to  schedule emails. To use this feature, please read the following: 

1. Compose an email, press the arrow down icon in the “Send” button and then the “Schedule send” button.

email schedule

2. Pick from the schedule presets or hit the “Pick date & time” text to set a custom schedule.

schedule time and date

3. Navigate months using the two arrows and pick a day. Click the “Schedule send” button to proceed.

schedule send

4. Use Extensions 

One of the best Gmail hacks 2021 is using extensions. Using add-ons, one can access more features and even  change Gmail’s behavior or appearance. Moreover, you can use two types of extensions: built-in and 3rd  parties; accessible with these steps: 

1. Built-in. In Gmail, click the button right arrow icon. Select and click to open any of the built-in  extensions. 

use extensions
built in gmail settings

2. 3rd party. Open Chrome and visit chrome.google.com/webstore. Type “Gmail” in the search box, hit the  enter key on your keyboard, and click to open any extension. 

3rd party gmail extensions

3. Click “Add to Chrome,” then the “Add extension” button, and connect to Google account to continue.

email tracker for gmail

4. Open Gmail, click the extension shortcut and start using its features. 

5. Use Email Signatures 

An email signature is ideal for a business or a professional who wants to attach contact information in every  email. In Gmail, you can access this feature with these actions: 

1. Under Settings, in “General,” look for the “Signature” section and press the “Create new” button.

gmail signature

2. Type the signature name and hit the “Create” button. 

new signature name

3. Type your signature; use the text formatting tools, and enable the signature in new emails and replies.  Scroll down and click the “Save Changes” button.

gmail signature details

4. Open your inbox and compose an email. Press the pen icon and select “Contact Information.” Send the  email to complete the process. 

enter contact information

6. Confidentiality Mode 

It’s not always the case, but there are times where users need to send sensitive information over emails. As  Gmail knows about this, it offers a feature called “Confidential Mode.” With this feature, you can set an  expiration or require an SMS passcode to an email. Also, the receiver can’t copy, print, download, or forward  both the attachments and message in an email; enable it using these actions: 

1. Compose an email and click the time icon. 

confidentiality mode

2. Select the expiration: a day, a week, a month, three months, or five years. Choose whether to require an  SMS passcode or not. Click the “Save” button. 

date and time for confidentiality mode

3. Open the “Sent” folder and view the sent email. Press the “Remove access” to override the expiration date;  hit “Renew access” to bring it back. 

access for confidentiality

7. Replace Attachments with Google Drive Links

Yes, it’s easy to attach files from your computer to an email. However, you can make the process easier for  both you and the recipient when you use Google Drive links instead of actual files. To use this feature,  please follow these steps: 

1. In Gmail, compose an email and click the Google Drive icon

Replace Attachments with Google Drive Links

2. Press the “Drive link” button and select the file. Hit the “Insert” button. 

insert drive links

3. Click the “Send” button to proceed. 

send images from drive

8. Create Priority Inbox 

If you have too many emails, having a way to organize them would be beneficial. Luckily, Gmail offers  various Inbox types, including a “Priority Inbox.” In the process, this would split your inbox into three  sections, “Important and unread,” “Starred,” and “Everything else.” To enable this view, please be guided: 

1. Open Gmail, click the gear icon, scroll down and select the “Priority Inbox.” Press “Customize” to modify  your Priority inbox. 

create priority inbox

2. Change anything you like and hit the “Save Changes” button to complete. 

customize priority inbox

9. Mute Conversations 

If you’re no longer interested in a conversation, you can mute it so future messages won’t clutter up your  inbox. Enable it with these steps: 

1. In your inbox, open a conversation. Click the three-dotted menu and hit “Mute.” Click “Unmute” to  unmute. 

mute conversations

2. To view muted emails, go to the “All Mail” folder or type “is:muted” in the search bar.

10. Translate Incoming Mails 

One of the handy Gmail tips and tricks is email language translation. Whenever you receive an email in a  foreign language, follow these actions to understand it: 

1. Open an email and select the language you want to use as a translation. Click “Translate message” to  translate the email. 

translate incoming mails

2. Click “View original message” to display the previous language. 

view original message

11. Create Reminders

If you have too many emails, you might forget to respond or take action in some emails. To avoid this, you  can use any of the three Gmail reminder features: 

1. Under Settings, in “General,” look for the “Nudges” section and enable the two options. Scroll down and  hit the “Save Changes” button. 

create reminders

2. In an email, click the three-dotted menu and select from the snooze presets or set a custom one.

date and time for the reminder

3. In an email, press the checkmark icon. Click the pencil icon and choose a time and date for the reminder. 

save remainder
add date and time to reminder

12. Setup / Remove Formatting 

Aside from plain text, Gmail also provides a few formatting options: 

1. Under Settings, in “General,” look for the “Default text style” section and change the default text format.

Setup / Remove Formatting

2. Compose an email and click the formatting icon. Click a formatting style and type some text.

email formatting

3. Remove formatting. Click the arrow icon and hit the 1st option or the three-dotted menu and then the  “Plain text mode. 

remove formatting
formatting removed

13. Create Google Calendar Events 

If you’re a busy person, then you can benefit from Gmail’s quick Calendar event creation feature:

1. Open an email, click the three-dotted menu, and then the “Create event” option.

Create Google Calendar Events

2. Wait for the browser to load the Google Calendar event creation page. Set all details you like and hit  “Save.” 

google calendar meetings

14. Google Meet with Gmail 

If you want to invite someone into a Google Meet using Gmail, you can do so with these steps: 

1. Compose an email, click the “Meet” text, and then the “New meeting” option. Press the copy button and  paste it to the compose window. 

google meet with gmail

2. Click the “Meet” text and then the “New meeting” text. Press the “Send invite” button and then the “Share  via email” option. 

create google meetings

3. Wait for the browser to open another window, edit the text, and send the invite via email.

15. Personal Level Indicators 

Gmail’s personal level indicators allow users to identify if a message was sent to a group of users or only to  one recipient. Gmail shows one arrow (>) if an email was addressed to a group, a double arrow (>>) is sent  only to a single recipient, and no arrow if it’s a mailing list. It’s off by default, so please do these actions to  enable it: 

1. Below Settings, in “General,” look for the “Personal level indicators” section and select the “Show  indicators” option. Hit the “Save Changes” button to proceed. 

personal level indicators in gmail
show indicators

Make the Most Out of Gmail with Boxysuite

After learning about the 15 tips on improving Gmail productivity, you’re likely eager to use the email service  more than before. If that’s the case, especially if you’re using a Mac, you’ll love Boxysuite

As fellow Gmail lovers, we understand the inefficiency and distractions of using multiple Chrome tabs in  daily productivity. Accordingly, we created Boxysuite, a clean, focused, and distraction-free space for  Gmail, Google Calendar, Keep, and Contacts. 

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