Since its release in 2004 to its current status as the global email powerhouse – Gmail has proven to be an indispensable tool for both our personal and professional lives.
Most people use Gmail quite regularly. I’m sure most of us also feel that our inboxes are too full.
Well, you might be glad to know that Gmail has a ton of in built useful functionalities that can really improve your productivity.
I’ve uncovered 4 of the most important functionalities that will help you declutter your inbox and work towards that optimal outcome of ‘Inbox 0’.
1. The Search Operators
Search operators are by far the most effective way to take control of your inbox clutter. You can find a full comprehensive list of Gmail search operators via this list provided by Google.
In the list below, I include the most useful Gmail search operators that can help you clean up your inbox.
is:unread
This is by far the most effective search operator available.is:unread
This simple search operator enables you to pick and choose the unread emails that you want to delete, unsubscribe from or mark as read (as described later in this blog)
older_than: or newer_than:
is:unread older_than:7d
The above example will show all unread emails that are older than 7 days.
Use these operators to search for messages sent or received over a certain date range. This is a great way to easily delete emails that are older than x days or months old.
Other examples…
after:2004/04/16before:2004/04/18older_than:2wnewer_than:2m“unsubscribe”
is:unread older_than:7d "unsubscribe"The above example will show all unread emails that are older than 7 days and which contain the word ‘unsubscribe’.
Use this search to find emails that contain the word ‘unsubscribe’.
This is a handy tip for finding all those subscription newsletter emails that you rarely open, even more rarely read !
from:
is:unread older_than:7d from:hostelworld.com
The above example will show all unread emails that are older than 7 days and which are sent from a hostelworld.com email.
2. The Unsubscribe Button
Most people think that when you want to unsubscribe from a newsletter mailing list, you either have to scroll to the bottom of each email OR use a service like .
The truth is that Gmail has made this process a whole lot easier.
Well, in fact, there is an unsubscribe button right next to each email address from a subscription newsletter.
Open the message, look for the sender’s emails address at the top, and immediately to the right of it you will see an ‘unsubscribe’ button (shown below). Easy.
3. The Read Button
The quickest way to reduce the number of unread emails in your inbox is to use the ‘Read’ button below.
Using the search operators, then use select all button and then the ‘Read’ button can be a great way to quickly reduce your number of unread emails.
4. Gmail Schedule Send feature
[UPDATED AUGUST 2019]
I previously recommended the Boomerang Gmail App to help schedule emails. But this feature is now available within Gmail.
The tool allows you, just like Boomerang Gmail App, to schedule email replies in advance and allows you to schedule for early morning delivery even if you’re writing them late at night.
You can learn more about the Gmail Schedule Send feature here.
Final Note
Emails can be tricky. But hopefully with this quick list of productivity tools, you can take a greater step towards decluttering your inbox.
Get in touch if you have any follow up questions or if there’s any questions you have.
