Tag:

email

Managing All of Your Email

by Miguel Guhlin July 3, 2017

written by Miguel Guhlin

Buried in email? Looking for creative ways to organize and sort your emails? Come along as we take a quick look at some of my favorite email apps and email organization tools. You may need this if you have over fifty emails sitting in your inbox.

Favorite Email Apps

1- Outlook

Looking for a combination email and calendar management solution? An active iOS user, I’m often on the lookout for apps that combine a variety of tools into one multi-purpose approach. Outlook blends a simple interface for email and calendars and provides support for Microsoft OneDrive. But you don’t need to be a Microsoft enthusiast to enjoy Outlook (free) on your Android or iOS device. With a unified inbox and swipe to archive or delete feature, this makes Outlook one of your best choices. It is a solid choice for those who may not want to deviate from traditional email clients and desire a simple interface.

2- Readdle Spark

Spark‘s interface takes email management to the next level above tools like Google’s Inbox and Outlook, automatically sorting your inbox into various categories. “All new emails are smartly categorized into Personal, Notifications, and Newsletters,” reports its website. The app even includes a built-in calendar, and quick responses (e.g. “Thanks!”) for when on the go. It also has Apple Watch integration, which means you will receive updates on your Watch. Give it a try. It is one of my favorite apps.

3-Inbox

Google’s Inbox offers many of the same features as Spark, as well as a few more. Still, I find the lack of a universal inbox to be a bit of a bother. The process to switch between multiple inboxes is problematic. It also lacks support for Microsoft accounts, which could be an impediment for those of us straddling two worlds at work, home, or both.

4-Astro

managing

A relative newcomer to email, Astro features a Mac OS and iOS app. It enjoys an artificial intelligence (AI) that can help you manage your email (with Slack and Alexa support, scheduled emails, snooze emails). After using it for a week, I must confess that it works quite well. With it, I’ve managed to maintain inbox zero for my priority emails. You can add very important people (VIPs) so that they end up in your priority inbox. All others, such as newsletters, are shuttled to the “Other” category. I find the Slack integration, which allows you to read your email in an Astrobot channel, to be a time-saver. Reading my email in Slack, I’m able to archive, delete, or otherwise dispose of it from my Slack client, whether on my mobile or laptop. Astro also support multiple account types, such as Gmail, Microsoft Outlook/Office365, and others.

5-Newton (f.k.a. Cloudmagic)

The Newton app, which works on popular mobile devices (e.g. Android, iOS, Chromebook), boasts a host of awesome features (e.g. Alexa support, read receipts, send later, scheduled emails, snooze emails). Formerly known as Cloudmagic, I pulled my hair out when CloudMagic switched to a subscription service ($49.99 per year). Still, it offers one of the best cross-platform interfaces among all the apps.

Email Organization Tools

Any administrator will tell you that dealing with to-do items in their school Gmail account can be overwhelming. On a good day, you may get upwards of 50 to 100 emails. A few of those include critical tasks as opposed to information you may or may not need (e.g. “Hey boss, I’m going to need to work late on that project!” or “FYI – Look at what my co-worker and I are doing”). Two incredible add-ons will literally change how you see your email in the browser.

1-SortD.com

managing

SortD provides some amazing tools for organizing and managing your email. Some of its primary features include a multi-column layout for your Gmail (as shown above), adjust list names, and drag-and-drop to reorder the content of each column or across columns. There are many other features, but you may want to try it out. Before you do, take a look at the other contender in this space, Drag.

2-Drag: To-Do and Task List

managing

Looking for a quick way to organize your email into columns, as shown above? Check out the Drag add-on. The add-on works quite well and does not take over your screen like SortD does. Unlike SortD, Drag lacks a mobile interface. It works strictly in the Chrome browser, so you will have to make do with that (which is fine for Chrome users). Watch video.

Current Choice

What’s my current choice for email app and add-on for Gmail in the browser? My current choices include Astro for my iOS device, and I rely on the Inbox Zero approach. Not familiar with Inbox Zero? While there are plenty of blog entries and articles about it; allow me to offer some quick points:

Sort all your email in your inbox into Action, Follow-Up, and Someday.
Anything else, including emails you deal with, go into Gmail’s built-in archive (a.k.a. All Email).
Use Gmail’s search tools to quickly find emails in your archive or elsewhere. It’s worth looking at this chart of Gmail search operators. My favorites include:
- to:
- from:
- has:attachment
- is:unread
- after:, before:, newer: with each colon followed by the date in question
- subject: to find words in the subject line

How do you keep your inbox organized? Share some ideas in the comments.

July 3, 2017 0 comment

Microsoft Tips and Tricks

Achieving Inbox Zero: How to Save Email to OneNote

by Miguel Guhlin June 29, 2016

written by Miguel Guhlin

People will look over my shoulder when I’m checking my email and, with wonder in their voices, ask, “How is it that you have so few emails?” Achieving Inbox Zero is a personal goal of mine. I loathe clutter, both in my office space and in my email inbox. While creativity flourishes when you juxtapose strange ideas and resources, I like to keep the inbox clear except when I’m actively pursuing the will-o-wisp of innovation. OneNote’s “email it in” function makes that possible.

If you’re wondering how to quickly email content to your OneNote Notebook of choice, it’s not too difficult. You can get there by following these steps. But first, let’s explore why you would want to do this. Here are some reasons:

Setup a OneNote to receive emailed assignments from students. Have a class set of iPads? Put a “class@mydistrict.net” email on them as the default, and this will enable your students to email their creations into OneNote for easy project capture.
Email important documents and correspondence directly into OneNote. One way of achieving Inbox Zero is to eliminate the unnecessary and sort the “must-keep” into OneNote for long-term storage.
Scan documents into your mobile device and, if sharing to OneNote directly isn’t available, email them to your OneNote.
Drop receipts into OneNote. You can take a photo of receipts and save them to OneNote or you can just email them to “me@onenote.com” and in the Subject line, put @Receipts to see them magically appear in the appropriate section.
Forward e-newsletters into OneNote for easy access and prevent your email inbox from becoming a repository of information.
Take advantage of OneNote’s built-in search capability to find your emails and content. You can also tag that content to make it easier to find. For student projects, tag their work by name, class period, and year (1516mguhlin_period2), and finding student work will be a snap!
Use IFTTT to drop important emails into OneNote. With the right recipe, you can save content directly from your email into the appropriate OneNote Notebook section.

Now that you know a few reasons why emailing into OneNote is so useful, let’s walk through the process together.

This makes working with content from your email quite easy. Of course, if you are running OneNote 2016 on your computer, you can take advantage of several keyboard shortcuts that make working with content simple, as well as adding content. For example, Windows + S key will allow you to clip a page for inclusion in a OneNote page. This makes it ridiculously easy to capture content on your computer and then include it in a OneNote page.

Relying on OneNote to do the heavy-lifting of keeping track of your precious work and resources can be an organizational boon. Instead of email and Google Drive documents (Where is that document saved?), you can take advantage of OneNote’s multi-notebook search features to find content quickly and easily.

June 29, 2016 0 comment

Android Chromebooks

Some Chromebooks to Embrace Android Apps in June 2016

by Miguel Guhlin May 20, 2016

written by Miguel Guhlin

My Acer C740 Chromebook is my go-to device for on-the-go blogging, writing, and creating, supplemented by my multimedia mobile studio in the form of my iPhone 6 Plus. That is why I was thrilled to read that my Chromebook will support Android apps starting after June 2016. For schools and staff that have Acer Chromebook R11, Asus Chromebook Flip, and the Google Chromebook Pixel (2015), you need wait no longer than June.

My top picks for Chromebooks (check out these two comparison charts, as well as the End of Life chart) include the following and are supported for Google Play Store and Android apps:

Dell Chromebook 11 – Both the 3120 (11 inch monitor model) and 7310 (13 inch model) will be included in the Google Play Store launch. These are fantastic for schools for students and staff respectively.
Toshiba Chromebook and Chromebook 2 – These wonderful Chromebooks, which mimic an Apple Macbook Air, are also supported.
Other vendor Chromebooks included are Acer, Asus, CDI, CTL, HP, and Lenovo.

Note: I recommend 4 gigs of RAM for any Chromebook; extra RAM gives Chromebooks the little “oomph” you will need to get the job done, especially as you delve into audio and video.

What does that mean for Chromebook users like you and me? Here are some ideas:

The ability to get and use Android apps will enable powerful alternatives such as:
- CloudMagic for email
- Aldiko ebook reader for non-DRM ePub formatted ebooks
- Microsoft OneNote for note-taking
- Hi-Q MP3 Recorder for audio recording
- Secure Space Encryptor (SSE) for file/email/text encryption
The ability to play strategy and “maker” type games like MineCraft and Clash of Clans (which provide a fun, competitive way to build up an empire).
Access to a host of Android apps for education, expanding the Chromebook’s viability for younger grades and students, making it the de-facto choice for schools on a budget (and who isn’t?) and Google Apps for Education (GAFE) integration.

Many have often viewed Chromebooks as intended for “older” grades, choosing iPads for younger learners. Chromebooks that can run Android apps will be a significant game-changer, especially when you consider the Asus Chromebook Flip (pictured below) at $279.

Event Announcement: How do you envision using Chromebook and the rich ecology of Android apps to transform teaching, learning, and leading in your space? If you’re coming up short on answers, consider attending the TCEA Chromebook Academy July 28 and 29, 2016. Register online and earn 12 CPE hours.

May 20, 2016 1 comment

Google Tips and Tricks

Gmail Tips to Save You Time (Updated)

by Lori Gracey October 18, 2015

written by Lori Gracey

The average worker in the US spends an estimated 28% of the work week managing email. That equates to one day a week! Obviously, we have to get this under control. If you’re using Gmail, there are some simple ways to help save you time and frustration.

Use canned responses – A lot of the emails that we reply to are somewhat similar: answers to common questions from parents, reminders, and such. These often-typed messages can be standardized and then customized as needed. First, turn on canned responses by going to Settings – Labs – Canned Responses and Enable. Scroll down and click Save. Now create an email message you’d like to use over and over again, and then click the arrow in the lower right-hand corner of the message window. Choose Canned Responses, and under the Save heading, select New Canned Response. Give your response a name and click OK.

The next time someone emails you something that fits the canned response you created, reply to the message and instead of typing your response, click the arrow button in the lower right-hand corner, select Canned Responses, and then under Insert, choose the canned response you created in the previous step. You’ll then see your response appear in the body of your reply.

Schedule your emails – The free Boomerang Chrome extension lets you schedule emails to be sent later and allows you to archive emails that will reemerge in your inbox later as an unread message.

Pause your inbox – If you find that you get distracted from other projects by constantly checking your email, you can pause them so that you can get more work done. Inbox Pause, a free Chrome extension, will hold your emails until you’re ready for them. Take control!

Unsubscribe from unwanted emails – Many of us get a little carried away with subscribing to email services we think will be useful, but find we’re just deleting them unread when they appear. Use Unroll Me to unsubscribe yourself from unwanted emails (but this won’t work on emails coming from your supervisor!).

Motivate yourself to clean up your inbox with the Email Game – Gamify clearing out your inbox with this free tool. Simply enter your email address and the game will start. It gives you five seconds per email to decide what to do with it:

Reply
“Boomerang” (i.e. archive now and resurface in your inbox at a later, specified time; see above)
Archive
Delete
Skip

You get a certain number of points for each action and you’re penalized if you go over time. If you click “reply,” then you’re given three minutes by default to respond. You can always add time if you really need to, but speed is in your best interest here.

Turn your inbox into organized to-do lists – Add the free Chrome extension Drag to your computer and you’ll be able to easily organize your emails into to-do lists, much like in Trello. This will help you know what to work on next.

What other Gmail tips do you use to save time?

Additional content and resources were added to this blog on April 12, 2018.

October 18, 2015 0 comment

Google Tips and Tricks

I Didn’t Mean to Send That Email!

by Lori Gracey August 20, 2015

written by Lori Gracey

Have you ever sent an email to the entire school that you only intended to send to a colleague? Or have you sent an important email, but forgot to include the attachment? Don’t worry; Google email has you covered. Gmail users can enable the Undo Send feature and then be able to retract messages for up to 30 seconds after hitting the send button.

To turn on Undo Send:

Click the gear in the top right of your Gmail screen.
Select Settings.
Scroll down to Undo Send and click Enable.
Set the cancellation period (the amount of time you have to decide if you want to unsend an email; 30 seconds is the maximum).
Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.

To give you time to undo, Gmail delays sending the messages for a few seconds. So if you don’t select “Undo” within the time limit you set, your message will be sent.

Want to become more familiar with all things Google? Members can join us the first Thursday of each month for a free power Google webinar. These fast-paced sessions are focused on elevating your skills to enhance productivity and student learning. You can find the list of topics here. Not a TCEA member? You can join for just $45 and continue your professional growth.

August 20, 2015 1 comment

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