One of the most dangerous time sucks in your day is the e-mail inbox. Better e-mail management is a surefire way to streamline your daily workflow and claim valuable time back.
One way I do this is by using the mouse as little as possible when I process my inbox. Learning a few hotkeys can speed things up greatly and remove friction from what can be a real time waster.
Here are a few hotkeys that save me time every day in GMail.
- ] = archive & next
- j = next
- l = label
- r = reply
- a = reply all
- c = compose new
In order for these shortcuts to work, you need to first turn them on by clicking on Settings and selecting Keyboard shortcuts on. Enjoy!
You’ll notice I don’t have delete in there. That’s because I archive EVERYTHING. Having to make decisions about what to delete and what to archive just slows you down. Storage is cheap. You never know what you might want to go back and reference. Archive it all.
What are your favorite time-saving tips for processing your e-mail inbox or using GMail?
I have found that putting archived messages in folders helps speed retrieval. 1. Client, 2.Output, 3. Team, 4. Admin, 5. Personal. These folder headings work in My Document areas of the computer and for snail mail and/or hard copy filing as well.
In the past I looked for hours for something I new I had, somewhere. Today, very short minutes are the longest time spent searching.
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