# Master Gmail with These 7 Quick and Easy Steps to Help You Become More EduProductive

- Link: https://teachercast.net/edtech/7-steps-to-becoming-a-gmail-power-user/
- Published: 2024-03-10T11:07:23-04:00
- Author: Jeff Bradbury

Are you thinking of making the shift from your current email to [Gmail](https://teachercast.net/tag/gmail/)?
Are you trying to figure out how Outlook features translate into the Google world?
I need to confess at the top of this post.  I am NOT a big fan of Gmail.  I honestly
don’t get it.  It’s big and it’s scary, and I don’t fully understand how much of
it works.

I’m used to having emails and folders and rules, and when I look at Gmail, I don’t
know where to begin.  I don’t know how to find the emails I’m looking for and I 
don’t have the first clue as to where to go for help.

It is for these reasons and so much more, that I came up with 7 quick and easy steps
to become a Gmail power user.  As I make the switch from receiving my Gmail emails
in other popular inbox applications (Outlook, Apple Mail, etc…) I am slowly beginning
to understand the power and simplicity of the Gmail ecosystem and I’m finding that
it’s actually pretty easy to convert your thinking over.  Here are 8 quick and dirty
tips and tricks to becoming a Gmail wizard.

## **Master the Inbox**

At the heart of any email client is the Inbox.  For many, this is the central location
where thousands if not tens of thousands of emails reside.  It’s the clutter of 
all clutter.  Did you know that you can quickly change the view of your inbox to
reflect the type of thinker you are?  By clicking on Settings-Inbox you can customize
the way your inbox looks by creating a view with unread messages on top, or by ordering
your emails based on importance (instead of by date) and you can emails that have
already been set up to be filtered to your labeling system?

The goal for your inbox shouldn’t necessarily be “inbox zero” but Gmail does make
it very simple for us to achieve this mythological state of being by providing a
system for us to quickly view, organize, and move on with our messages.  Before 
reading any further, my advice is this: Stop … Breathe …. and Dive into Inbox Settings,
and remember that efficiency comes with a cleaner inbox rather than a messy one.

## **Master the art of email**

I know this sounds crazy.  Email has been around for quite a long time now and an
email client is an email client ….. _right_?  Gmail provides two efficient ways 
of composing an email. You can compose your email on the right of the screen out
of the way of your main inbox or, you can enable full screen and take advantage 
of a beautiful full-screen (almost) email application.

## **Link to …. Don’t Attach Documents, Photos, Videos, and PDFs.**

Many of us will have to spend time on this email box changing our thinking.  For
many of us, we are used to composing an email and then attaching files to that email.
If this is the way you are still trying to do things in Gmail, you simply are not
understanding the way that the Google system works.  My suggestion to you is this.
Instead of adding an attachment to the email, simply click on the Google Drive icon
at the bottom of the email editor and link to your Docs, Sheets, Slides, PDFs, and
even VIDEOS.  This not only keeps your inbox levels down but saves you space.  While
GAFE accounts provide unlimited storage, your personal Gmail inboxes only start 
you out with 15 GB of space. If you have a file in your Google Drive and also in
an email (or a few emails) that is now double if not triple the space being taken
up by a single file.

## **Keep organized using Tasks**

One of the unseen heroes in your Gmail toolbox is Tasks.  If you click on the little
triangle next to the word “Gmail” on the top left of your screen, you will see a
drop-down of your Contacts and Tasks.  Tasks “should be” where and how you keep 
your To-Do’s.  You can quickly take notes and set due dates that show up in Google
Calendar.  Did you know you can create nested To-Dos in addition to creating multiple
Task lists?  It’s a pretty powerful feature that when used on the road also syncs
up to your mobile applications.

## **Create a Fun Email Signature**

You have your email composed and are all ready to send out your email.  You do this
time and time again.  Did you know that you can create a personalized email signature?
By going into Settings-General, you can create a unique email signature complete
with any links, graphics, and text style you wish.

## **Uncluttered your Inbox using Filters and Favorites**

If you are used to using applications such as Outlook or Apple Mail, you are familiar
with their folding system.  An email gets organized in a folder which is inside 
of another folder.  It’s what I call “Microsoft Thinking.”  When you are in Gmail,
it’s time to completely change that thinking …. “slightly.” Folders are no more 
and instead, Gmail is dominated by “Labels” but the catch is this; an email can 
have multiple labels.  One of the ways that we can organize is to create a series
of labels and filters for your emails to keep our inbox uncluttered.

## **Share to Calendar**

Do you have an email that is asking you to attend an upcoming event? It’s super 
easy … bearly an inconvenience to open up Google Calendar on the right-side panel
and create a new calendar event. This not only saves time but allows you to stay
productive in a single app rather than tab-switching and getting lost in your work.

## What are your favorite tips and tricks?

Let’s be honest. This blog post only touches a few basic items in Gmail.  They say
you only use about 10% of your brain in a lifetime and I feel that many of us only
really use 10%

## Simplify Your Systems. Amplify Your Impact.

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