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Gmail is the most popular e-mail service on the planet. Most of us have actually utilized it for many years and are pretty comfortable using it to check out and send out e-mails. However, there's a difference in between understanding how to utilize email and understanding how to manage e-mail. If you do not have a system to assist you stay arranged, the numerous emails you get every week will rapidly overwhelm you. So, here's how to utilize the Getting Things Done (GTD) method to manage your Gmail inbox.
Try the Two-Minute Rule
Here's a common scenario. Your inbox is filling up with emails so it's time for you to sit down and see what's actually deserving of your attention. How do you choose what to deal with very first? Let's start with the two-minute rule.
If you can read and look after an email in 2 minutes or less, then do it.
That implies, write a fast reply, forward it to somebody else, archive it, or delete it. If an email takes less than two minutes of your time, deal with it once in a while move on to the next one. It's a quick and easy way to start emptying your inbox.
Using GTD Labels in Gmail
If you can't deal with an e-mail in 2 minutes or less, then it typically falls under one of two categories:
- Email that will take more than 2 minutes to deal with
- Email that you can't respond to due to the fact that you are waiting on the actions of others
E-mails in the first classification just need more of your time. For instance, you may have an email from an annoyed moms and dad of among your trainees. In order to give that e-mail the attention it requires, you're going to need to think thoroughly about how finest to write that reply.
It won't take you an hour, but it will take longer than two minutes.
For emails like this, you're going to develop and use a label called @Action . Putting the "@" symbol (or a hyphen) before the word "Action" will ensure it sits (alphabetically) at the top of your list of labels.
E-mails in the 2nd category are there due to the fact that you are waiting for somebody else to do something before you can respond, archive, or erase it. For example, if you emailed your principal about prospective dates for an upcoming field trip, you require them to reply to you prior to you can schedule something with the museum. For emails like this, you are going to produce and use a label called @Waiting For .
Utilize this technique as you continue to work through your e-mails. Can you handle it in two minutes or less? Terrific! Do it! If not, label it as @Action or @Waiting For and work on these emails when you have more time.
Setting up a Gmail Inbox for GTD
Once your e-mail has actually been identified, you wish to ensure that it is organized in a way that enables you to process it efficiently. Among the very best ways to do this is to customize your Gmail inbox. There are a number of methods you could do this, however I like Google's Priority Inbox choice. It allows you to organize the emails in your inbox by the labels we simply set up. Here's how it works.
Using Gmail With Google Tasks
The Priority Inbox is a fantastic method to organize your e-mail, but there may be times where you wish to include an e-mail directly to your job supervisor. Sometimes you get e-mails that belong to a larger job you are working on. Including an email like this to your task manager is a much better place for it since that is where you work on projects or tasks that require continuous attention.
If you understand how to utilize Google Tasks for Getting Things Done, you can utilize the button at the top of an e-mail to include it to a list in Google Tasks. When an e-mail is added to Google Tasks, it consists of a link to the initial email. This suggests you can archive the e-mail and remove it from your inbox. If you require to reference the email once again, simply click the link in the task to remember it.
Routine Email Reviews
Of course, the GTD method for processing emails is just going to work if you make a point of regularly reviewing your "@Action" and "@Waiting For" e-mails. If you let things being in there with no more deal with your part, then your inbox will rapidly get out of control. Email is something that you have to review and work on when you have time, similar to a to-do list.
More From This Series
- Getting Things Done With Google
- Getting Things Done With Google Tasks
- Getting Things Done With Google Drive
- Getting Things Done With Google Calendar
- Getting Things Done With Google Keep
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