Gmail has some great organizational features, including the ability to store different types of emails in folders for easy access and categorizing. You can do this using Gmail’s label system, and this functionality is available in both the mobile app and on your desktop.
Gmail folders are known as labels, allowing you to store emails in different sections for easy organization. You can create them on the mobile app or on the desktop. Emails can be stored using multiple labels, and you can use filters to automatically label mail based on the address or keywords.
Let’s take a closer look at the purpose of Gmail labels and how to get the best out of this feature.
What is the Purpose of Gmail Labels?
The purpose of Gmail labels is to work like folders or sections, allowing for easy access to emails you might need to find quickly. They can help keep your inbox organized and clutter-free.
You can label different emails and then access one label to see all emails in a category. For example, you can put all your work or school emails into one folder.
These labels are completely customizable, so you can have as many as you like. You can also add multiple labels to emails.
How to Create Labels on the Mobile App
If you’re using the official Gmail mobile app, open up the left-hand sidebar by selecting the button with three horizontal lines. Scroll down past preexisting labels, and you’ll see a plus sign button marked “Create New.” Select this to create a new label.
To add an email to a label, select it by tapping the circle icon to the left of the email. Then click the three dots at the top right of your screen and select either “Move” or “Label.”
Note that if you’re using an Android phone, you cannot create new labels for Gmail within the app. Instead, open Gmail in your web browser and request the desktop version of the site to access the label function.
How to Create Folders on a Desktop
On a desktop, open your Gmail account. You’ll see your labels on the left, with a plus sign next to the category. Select the plus sign and you can create a new label. You’ll also have the option to nest it within another label to create sub-folders.
How to Automatically Label Your Incoming Emails
Gmail allows you to automatically label incoming emails as well. Say you want to add a label to emails from a certain address automatically. To do this, follow these steps:
- Type what you want to filter into the search bar (e.g. from: [email address]).
- At the bottom of the search window, select “Create Filter.”
- Scroll to “Apply Label” and select the label you want.
- Select “Create Filter.”
You can also use this feature to automatically label emails with other qualities, like ones that use certain keywords. You cannot, however, create filters on the mobile app — it has to be done on a desktop.
If you don’t have access to a desktop, you can open up Gmail.com on your phone and request the desktop version of the site (the same way you would on an Android device).
This squeezes the desktop version of the site onto your mobile screen so that, although cramped, you have the same options.
Tips for Organizing Your Gmail Account
In addition to labels, there are some other features you can take advantage of to organize your Gmail account in a way that works for you. Which of them are valuable will depend on the kind of email user you are, as well as the kind of mail you typically receive — and how much. Let’s take a look at them.
Change the Order You See Your Email
In your settings, it’s possible to change the order in which you see your email. The Gmail inbox shows you the newest emails first, as most inboxes do, by default. However, you have the option of rearranging your inbox so that it prioritizes emails with certain labels first, or emails that are unread or starred.
Archive Emails as You Go
While a lot of people feel anxious about deleting emails in case they need them later, archiving is a cool option that saves your emails but removes them from your inbox.
You can always access them in the archive folder if you need them, but it’ll keep the amount of mail in your inbox to a minimum.
You can always go through and do this to all of the emails you already have, although it’s much quicker to archive emails as you go.
If you delete emails instead of archiving them (or delete them from the archive folder), they will go to the trash. Emails in the trash are automatically deleted after 30 days, so make sure you’re sure you never want to see those emails again if you send them there. You can also choose to clear out the trash sooner.
Use Filters
Although you can use filters for labels, you can also use them for other things! You can automatically delete or star certain emails, which will bring them to the top of your inbox if you’ve changed the settings. This allows you to see and deal with important emails first.
Turn on Nudges
Another cool filter Gmail offers is called “nudges.” Nudges can be found in the “General” section of the Settings panel. This sends emails to the top of your inbox that it believes you’ve forgotten to reply to and it also boosts emails to the top that you might want to send a follow-up to.
Unsubscribe From Unnecessary Emails
A very common thing companies do is send lots of emails to people who’ve ordered from them in the past. If you know you aren’t going to buy any more from them or aren’t interested in what they have to say, don’t forget to unsubscribe.
There’s usually a link in the email to do this, though it’s buried at the bottom (as companies don’t generally want their consumers to unsubscribe). You can also use Gmail’s mass-delete feature to remove old subscription emails.
Blacklist
If you go into your Google settings, you can blacklist certain addresses and no longer receive emails from them. This is very helpful if you have people spamming you or companies who just won’t take a hint that you no longer want to receive their mail.
Star Important Emails
Lastly, it helps to star important emails. This marks them for easy viewing and also helps Gmail learn what kind of emails you value. You can view all your starred emails in one place, so you can go through and reply to them all quickly (or read them, if that’s all you mean to do).
While it’s easy for inboxes to quickly become messy due to the influx of mail received every day, Gmail also makes it easy to keep an inbox organized.
Utilizing labels, filters, blacklisting, and starred messages, as well as following good email practices like archiving as you go, can all help to maintain a clean inbox where important mail can be easily found.