Hi! I’m Angelina, the National Grow with Google Digital Coach.
Today we’re going to look at 5 ways to work more efficiently in Google Docs and Gmail.
These productivity hacks can help you be more organized and save you time.
Because we know time is money.
If you’re looking for a Google file
– think Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides –
and you know the file name, you can bypass searching through folders.
In a Google Chrome browser start typing the name of the file you want to open in the address bar.
A list of suggestions will appear; when you see the name of the file you want, click it to open.
For those times when you know you won’t have wi-fi access,
maybe working from a plane or the beach,
you can set up the “Make available offline” feature.
This allows you to access, edit, and save your work without an internet connection.
You do need to set this up in advance.
First open the file you plan to work on offline.
Click on “File” in the toolbar and click “Make Available Offline.”
The first time you do this, you will see a box that says “Extension needed.”
Follow the prompts to add the Google Docs Offline Chrome extension.
Once the extension is installed, the “Make Available Offline” option is available for all of your files.
The next time your device connects to the internet, the changes you made will sync automatically.
Did you know that you can also work on email offline?
Again, you need to set this up in advance.
While you are connected to the internet:
Click the gear icon in Gmail to go to “Settings” and click “See All Settings.”
Click “Offline,” choose “Enable” and save your settings.
Bonus: you don’t even need the Chrome extension for this one.
When you’re offline you won’t receive new emails,
but you can read and respond to emails in your inbox.
Your responses will be sent the next time your device connects to the internet.
There are times when you may have to send a recurring email message.
Think “thank you” emails or reminders.
Rather than typing the same message over and over, you can create a template.
In Gmail, click the gear icon to go to Settings and click “See All Settings.”
Click Advanced and look for Templates.
From here, choose “Enable” and save your settings.
Now, go back to your inbox and compose the email that you want to save as a template.
When it’s ready, click the three-dot icon in the lower corner
and click “Template,” “Save draft as template,” and “Save as new template.”
Give it a descriptive name.
Now, the next time you need to write that email, click the three-dot icon and select Template.
You will see the descriptive name; click that and your new email is ready to edit and send.
Who likes hitting snooze in the morning? I know I do!
Did you know you can snooze your emails too?
You can manage your Gmail inbox, and your time, by snoozing non-urgent emails.
From your inbox, right click on an email you want to revisit and select “snooze.”
You’ll be asked to choose a later date and time.
The email disappears, only to reappear at the top of your inbox at your chosen time.
If you change your mind, you can find it in your Gmail “Snoozed” folder.
I’ll bet whoever said “you snooze you lose” probably didn’t know this Gmail tip.
There are also times when you won’t want to send an email as soon as you write it.
In those cases, you can schedule an email to be sent later.
First, compose the email, including the recipient.
Now, click the down arrow next to the ‘send’ button and select “Schedule send.”
Select a suggested date and time
or click “Pick date and time” to see a calendar picker;
click “Schedule send” to save.
If you change your mind and want to edit, reschedule, or delete the email
you can find it in the Gmail “Scheduled” folder.
Quickly find files. Keep working when you’re offline.
Create a template for recurring emails. Snooze email.
Schedule email to be sent later.
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be sure to subscribe to our Channel and check out the rest of our videos.
See you next time!