Sunday, April 17, 2011

For you bloggers that use Gmail, as I do…

This is not strictly martial arts related, but it could be a big help since so many of us use Gmail.
Here are two tools that really make Gmail a powerful tool, and help you keep your inbox clean and get more done. Both are free, and they were a huge help during the recent guest-posting frenzy, as well as on a continual basis for me.
imageActiveInbox is a free add-on for Gmail that will work with IE, Firefox, or Chrome, and it gives you the option to turns each email into a task-with priority, so that you can have an empty inbox and get more done. There is a paid version, but the free is superb, and should work for almost everyone.
imageBoomerang is another great tool if you use Gmail for anything important. You can schedule email to send at a particular time and day, and have it return (boomerang?) back to your inbox if you don’t get a reply, or to remind you to check on something. Never let something important fall through the cracks!
Finally, if you get a lot of junk in your inbox, this is not an add-on, try using Gmail filters. Some things can just be dumped, others you may want to read later, and others just filed so you don’t lose it. Or you may want to Star some important email – try Gmail filters to accomplish all this.
I’d been looking for tools like this for a long time, and hope that they may help you, too.

UPDATE: Boomerang is now for fee, and out of beta, but considering the benefits, may be well worth it! Give it a shot.

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