I don't know about you, but it seems like I've been getting much, much more email lately. And much of it I actually asked to receive. Group updates from LinkedIn, Facebook messages, newsletters, marketing pitches, special offers... Oy. Any one of these items can have value, but in a 24-hour period, the pile can make me want to run from my computer, pour a nice cocktail and watch ANYTHING on TV. That's not always practical, however, especially at hours like this one, when it's not 5:00 anywhere I do business.
But using my Gmail, I started on a little endeavor to buffer myself from the crush over the past week and am already noticing the results.
Here's what I did.
First, I made a "pending" label, but I called it "__pending" so that it would stay at the top of my filter list.
Next, I grabbed the email address of an email that I have a passing interest in, but don't want to flood my inbox.
I clicked on "Create a Filter" near the search button near the top of the page.
I added said email address to the From field, and hit the Next Step button.
I then checked the box next to "Skip the Inbox (Archive it)" and chose __pending from the dropdown menu of available filters. This automatically checks the box.
I then hit the "Create Filter" button.
I have done this 44 times so far and my only regret is not doing this sooner. I love this method as opposed to automatically diverting different messages into different filters because I have a one-stop shop for lower-priority messages that I might have an interest in reading, when I decide I want to. Also, with as much as I'm checking messages on my phone these days, each time I can spare myself from scrolling past such a message is valuable time I don't have to waste getting to the "real" messages that I most benefit from catching and replying to on my mobile device.
Now if only someone at Google Labs could make a "skip inbox and add to my chosen tag" button ;-)
Onward and upward ...
But using my Gmail, I started on a little endeavor to buffer myself from the crush over the past week and am already noticing the results.
Here's what I did.
First, I made a "pending" label, but I called it "__pending" so that it would stay at the top of my filter list.
Next, I grabbed the email address of an email that I have a passing interest in, but don't want to flood my inbox.
I clicked on "Create a Filter" near the search button near the top of the page.
I added said email address to the From field, and hit the Next Step button.
I then checked the box next to "Skip the Inbox (Archive it)" and chose __pending from the dropdown menu of available filters. This automatically checks the box.
I then hit the "Create Filter" button.
I have done this 44 times so far and my only regret is not doing this sooner. I love this method as opposed to automatically diverting different messages into different filters because I have a one-stop shop for lower-priority messages that I might have an interest in reading, when I decide I want to. Also, with as much as I'm checking messages on my phone these days, each time I can spare myself from scrolling past such a message is valuable time I don't have to waste getting to the "real" messages that I most benefit from catching and replying to on my mobile device.
Now if only someone at Google Labs could make a "skip inbox and add to my chosen tag" button ;-)
Onward and upward ...
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