Use Gmail labels to tame your inbox

Sooner or later, everyone's Gmail inbox will become a mess. There are a lot of tricks to deal with email overload, but there is a familiar tip that you may not have used yet: the Gmail label.

These labels have been around for a long time in Gmail, but they are known to very few users. Labels can completely change the way users access email, can even tame their inbox.

Whether or not the use of a label is successful depends on a number of core productivity principles, like any job management system. Here are useful tips when using labels in Gmail.

Labels should not make you think

Use Gmail labels to tame your inbox Picture 1

This is probably the most important part of using labels in Gmail. At first, you will be interested and give a long list of labels. 'Each task or email is unique', you will tell yourself. Avoid falling into this trap. The more labels you have, the more you have to think, which means that you lose more time. You must actively fight with a tired decision: What should be labeled.

Use as few labels as possible. Each label should serve a single purpose. As a rule of thumb, use these key labels and add 5 more labels to suit your business needs.

5 main labels: Today, Done, Waiting For, To-Do, Reply

Some experts recommend that you do email scanning daily in the morning, so you know what to do with each email? Think of this scan as the time to organize your inbox, just like you would arrange your to-do list.

Use Gmail labels to tame your inbox Picture 2

Email management rules: If you can delete it, delete it. For messages you cannot delete, you can usually classify them with the following five main labels:

1. Today: Mark this on any email with actions that need to be done today. You can label Today or something similar; as long as you know that you need to resolve this email today.
2. To-do: If the email contains a project or job you need to do today, mark it with this label. The bottom line is the task to do with emails with this label, more than just replying to that email. You can try combining Gmail with another application to turn emails with To-do labels into a task table (such as Trello). Please refer to the article Applications turning Gmail into an effective collaboration tool.
3. Reply: Check with this label on any email to reply. Therefore, an email can be marked with all 3 " Today + To-Do + Reply " labels to indicate that it contains a task and must be resolved at the end of the day.
4. Waiting For: Mark this label on any email that is important to you, but you have to wait for someone else to take action.
5. Done: This is the most important label. Any email that no longer requires you to take action, mark it as Done. Even if you have moved the email to the archive, the reply from the sender will bring it back in your inbox. You need to label 'Done' to mark this done.

Gmail labels are as great as a reassuring drug!

Use Gmail labels to tame your inbox Picture 3

Whenever you receive a new email notification, your first instinct is to open, read, reply or delete. But these emails will mess up your work because they distract you, so you need a solution to solve this problem.

Now, you just need to apply a label to that email and go back to work, then come back to resolve the email later, when your current job is completed. Applying a label will give you a sense of comfort, when interacting or solving email, without wasting your valuable time.

Labels are a great reassurance for those who are forced to organize large numbers of emails in their inbox.

Labels should be easy to access, apply and identify

Gmail has many tools to make the labels as user-friendly as possible. Please take a moment to customize the appearance of the label, it will effectively promote the use of your labels.

Use Gmail labels to tame your inbox Picture 4

Go to the gear icon, then go to Settings> Labels to see all your labels and manage them. You should hide most of the other items you see in the left sidebar, like Sent Mail, Drafts, Important, Categories, Circles and more. If your label appears first, it will be easier to spot them, as well as drag and drop into email.

Use Gmail labels to tame your inbox Picture 5

Also, color your labels. Click the small drop-down menu in any label in the sidebar to select a color for it. Simple colors applied to your main labels will help you identify them easily. For example, you can use the green label for "Done", to make it easy to see and know that you no longer have to bother with that email. Similarly, mark the "Today" label with a bright red so that it always attracts your attention.

No extensions, no frills

The use of labels is that it is integrated directly into Gmail. You don't need any extensions to use it on Google Chrome or the Gmail for mobile application. It works perfectly whenever you open your inbox. Gmail labels help you get out of the way and improve productivity.

If you have more effective label usage tips in Gmail, we'd love to hear about it! Please leave comments or any questions you have in the comment section below!

See more:

1. How to change Gmail wallpaper as you like
2. How to see which applications are reading your Gmail
3. Instructions for using secret mode when sending email on Gmail