4 quick tips for managing email overload on the go

Email is known to stress some Gen Z and others who prefer the immediacy of chat apps over a cluttered inbox. But the old electronic postal system still has its admirers, who may prefer its slowness, or its usefulness for composing longer messages, delivering attachments, and organizing the digital paper trail. Many apps include shortcuts to speed up mail handling, so if you often search through your inbox on your phone, here are some of those timesavers for Google’s Gmail and Apple’s iOS Mail.

Set up your slides

Quickly archiving or downloading messages lets you take control of your inbox right away, and you can do it with your thumb, thanks to the “swipe” controls in the Mail app. For example, you can assign one action (such as “flag”) to a left swipe, and choose another (such as “file”) for your right swipe. And Delete is always an option.

In the Gmail app settings on an Android phone, you can change what happens to a message when you swipe left or right.Credit…Google

In the Gmail app for Android, tap the menu icon in the top left corner, select Settings from the list, and choose Swipe Actions. Tap the Change button to select an action for the left and right swipe motion. The iOS version uses different wording but similar steps.

In iOS mail settings, you can add additional message management options to accompany the Delete button.Credit…Apple

To set your swipe actions in iOS Mail, tap the Settings icon on the iPhone Home screen, select Mail, and then choose Swipe Options. Choose the action you want to assign to the Swipe Left and Swipe Right functions.

Do you want to delete a lot of messages at once? In Gmail, tap the icon next to each spam message in the inbox, and then tap the trash can icon. In iOS Mail, tap the Edit button first, then select the messages and tap Trash at the bottom right corner of the screen.

If you don’t feel like swiping through each message to delete it, both Gmail, on the far left, and iOS Mail, on the far left, include the option to select a bunch of messages in your inbox and discard them all at once.Credit…Left, Google; true apple

check your mail

Your phone’s notification settings can tell you when new mail arrives. If you want a different way to view recent messages, you can add a mail widget to your home screen.

On most phones running Android 9 or later, touch an empty area on the home screen until the Widgets menu appears. Select Gmail or another mail widget you want to use, then slide it to the place on the home screen where you want.

Touch an empty area of ​​the screen on an Android phone to access the Widgets menu, where you can add home screen shortcuts for Gmail and other apps.Credit…Google

On an iPhone with iOS 14 or later, press your finger on an empty area of ​​the Home screen (or Today screen) until the icons begin to jiggle, then tap the + button in the upper left corner. In the Find Widgets box, enter “mail,” which opens the option for iOS Mail, or Gmail, if you use it; keep in mind that widgets are sometimes finicky. Make your selection, and then tap the Add Widget button on the next screen.

Many iOS mail apps have home screens that give you a quick glance at your inbox without opening the mail app.Credit…Apple

In iOS Mail, you can also long-press the inbox preview to view more than one message and get an action menu to reply, forward, or flag.

take care of business

Those times when you’re looking forward to a meeting (or other event) are a good time to manage your mail. Most mail apps offer various productivity features.

In a new Gmail message, tap the paperclip icon at the top of the screen to add an attachment, like a photo or a file stored in your Google Drive. You can tap the More three-dot menu on a newly received message and add it to your Google Tasks to-do list. Do you want to respect office hours and set a message to be sent later? After composing the text, touch the More menu in the upper right corner of the screen and choose Schedule sending.

Gmail, on the far left, and the iOS Mail app give you several options to quickly add an attachment to an outgoing message. The iOS Mail toolbar, near the left, includes icons for scanning documents with the iPhone camera and flagging files.Credit…Left, Google; true apple

To add an attachment in Apple’s iOS Mail app, start a new message and tap a blank area where you want to insert the file. In the toolbar that appears above the keyboard, tap the icon for the type of file you want to attach; Apple’s Mail Drop feature can send an attachment of up to 5 megabytes using its iCloud service. Tap the square icon to the right of the camera icon to scan a new document and attach it to the message. Do you need to annotate that file or sign a form? Touch the pen icon to mark it on the screen with the stylus or fingertip.

get off those lists

One of the main causes of inbox overload can be a constant stream of messages from mailing lists from organizations and merchants. If you decide you no longer want to read (or delete) these letters, please scroll to the bottom of the message and look for a link to unsubscribe or change your email preferences. Most legitimate companies include these options.

Many companies include an unsubscribe link at the bottom of a message. In iOS Mail, near the left, an unsubscribe button appears at the top of many mailing list messages.Credit…Left, Google; true apple

The iOS Mail app often displays an unsubscribe button at the top of a mailing list message. Tap the button and confirm your intention to leave the list, and make your inbox a little more manageable.

Source: www.nytimes.com