When it comes to using a tool to run a small business, G-Suite has a lot to offer. For many organizations and IT support providers, both small and large, Gmail is the go-to for communications thanks to its intuitive user-oriented design and many available integrations.
It’s no secret that email can be a time-consuming channel to maintain. With these tips and tricks, you can use Gmail to become more productive at work rather than losing time to this communication portal.
Send a Fax
One of the big challenges many organizations are facing today is the shift toward remote work. Businesses have had to rethink their entire workflow overnight in light of the global pandemic. While these companies are starting to find their footing, it’s never too late to rethink what tools are in place and what the business model will look like in the future.
Sending online faxes is a great way to share important client documents with mark-ups and signatures to employees and customers. Gmail is optimized for sending faxes with the right online fax program in place. The next time you have to print and sign and scan documents, consider sending a fax from Gmail instead.
Schedule Send
Implementing boundaries is a must when working in the digital age. It’s important to respect that your choice to work late into the evening is yours alone.
Use “schedule send” to ensure you’re not interrupting your contact’s vacation or weekend away. You can also use this tool to ensure that your important email is at the top of someone’s inbox when they get back online. If you’re drafting an email on Friday afternoon before a long weekend, schedule it to arrive first thing on Tuesday morning, circumventing all the other inquiries that came in over the weekend.
To use schedule send, click the arrow next to the “send” button and choose when you want your email delivered.
Use Snooze
We’ve all had those moments when an important email comes in, but we don’t have time to address it yet. Perhaps you see it pop up while you are engaged in another project, or you need some time to think about the answer.
The snooze button puts the email out of sight and out of mind until a predetermined time. The benefit of this function is that the email will pop back up at the top of your inbox so that you don’t forget to address the issue before you log off at the end of the day.
Use Nudges
Nudges operate similarly to snooze but without your input. The nudge function highlights emails from days previous that you haven’t responded to. In essence, if you forget to use snooze, Gmail will do it for you.
Nudges are a fantastic feature when you have a simple inquiry or request that gets put on the back burner and forgotten.
Use Auto-Fill
People tend to have a love-hate relationship with autocorrect and auto-fill features in communication tools. However, this simple tool can save you valuable time over the workweek. Auto-fill uses predictive text to suggest endings to your sentences based on the context you’ve provided. Rather than typing out the full sentence, you hit tab, and the word or phrase appears.
If speed typing or phrasing isn’t your strong suit, this feature will help you put together thoughtful, well-worded emails quickly.
Use Google Tasks
Gmail has a plethora of add-ins and features that can help you integrate your communications with project management tools, CRM platforms, and so on. Google Tasks is one of the most underrated add-ons. This simple to-do list features prominently at the right sidebar of your screen. You can add tasks manually or directly from your email.
The benefit of Google Tasks is that you no longer need those lists or separate to-do platforms. You’ll know what needs to get done every day when you open your email.
With these simple tips and tricks, you can become more productive and use email as a help rather than a hindrance.