Continued from Monday and Wednesday.
I have now fully transitioned my email to the Cloud. I am not going back to Outlook as the benefits for me of having my mail in the Cloud are positive and well beyond what I expected.
- When I clear, delete, archive or label an email on my smartphone while out of the office, it is similarly done everywhere – tablet, laptop, desktop. I love this! How great will travel be, I will only need to review email once and when I come home my desktop will be up to date.
- My online calendar is the boss! I’ll do a series on how to move your calendar to Google as that is also part of the equation on how to be more productive while working in the Cloud. I have my scheduling app Calendly feed directly into my Google calendar and without the hassle of feeding and creating duplicate events in Outlook my work flow is streamlined.
- I was not sure I could wean myself off Outlook folders. I organize and save all client correspondence and was worried that in Gmail I would lose or not be able to find things without the same set up. What I learned is the power of labels and stars. Plus the Google email search function is wonderful and find my mail in a snap. Remember, labels are the new folder in Gmail. You can still nest labels and create folders if you really want to.
- Make sure to go to the “lab” setting and select to enable these items to get the full use and power of Gmail – Canned Responses, Multiple In Boxes, Unread Message Icon, and Preview Pane. By using these lab functions you can set up your inbox to almost appear like the Outlook you were comfortable with.
- There are tons of resources online to review to help you effectively and productively use Gmail. I read nearly everything at Google https://support.google.com/mail/?hl=en#topic=3394144 while I was transitioning and found the information very helpful.