Gmail has numerous features for email users of all levels. Whether you
get a couple of messages a week or hundreds daily, Google's email
organization tools can help make your life easier.
Try some of these email tips:
Assign colored labels to emails. Labels are similar to conventional
folders, but more versatile. You can assign more than one label to a
single message. You can also specify a color so you can tell at a glance
which item is about what. For example, you can mark priority emails with
a red label, personal messages in blue and so on.
Send email via mobile phone. Don't wait until you are at home or the
office to take care of your mail. You can do it right from your Internet-
ready cell phone. But save this option for short messages. You don't want
to type long missives this way.
Chat with your contacts. Gmail has an integrated chat feature where you
can see who among your contacts are online and available to chat. Use
chat for speedy communication, when you need an instant response from
another person.
Use keyboard shortcuts. Frequent emailing can use up a lot of time. Save
time and give your mouse hand a break with keyboard shortcuts when
composing mail.
Search instead of sorting emails. If you have thousands of messages, it
will be often more practical to use the search tool than to sort them by
sender or title. You can quickly find a specific message if you remember
details about it, such as a unique word in the message body.
Mark messages that are important. Use the "star" option to mark messages
you'll want to come back to later. For example, emails that have
instructions in them, or a registration confirmation that includes your
user details (though you might want to delete emails with your passwords
in them).
Move messages to labels. Labels can keep emails just like folders can.
Move a message from the inbox to its own label to keep the inbox clutter-
free.
Archive or delete emails you don't need. Gmail has more storage space
than you will ever need. Archive old messages you don't need but don't
want to delete either. If you are sure you never want to see a message
again, why not delete it?
Set up Gmail with your email client. In spite of Gmail's many features,
some people still like their email software better. You can set up your
email client to receive Gmail, for free. However a disadvantage of email
software is you can't use them except on your own computer, whereas you
check Gmail from anywhere there's Internet connection.