www.fastcompany.com Open in urlscan Pro
151.101.65.54  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

FAST COMPANY

Follow
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

Login
 * Co.Design
 * Tech
 * Work Life
 * News
 * Impact
 * Podcasts
 * Video
 * Recommender
 * Innovation Festival 360IF360
 * Subscribe
 * 
 * FastCo Works
    * AWS
    * Genpact
    * IBM


 * HOMEPAGE


 * CO.DESIGN


 * TECH


 * WORK LIFE


 * NEWS


 * IMPACT


 * PODCASTS


 * VIDEO


 * RECOMMENDER


 * INNOVATION FESTIVAL 360


 * SUBSCRIBE

Help Center
fastco works


 * AWS


 * DELOITTE


 * DEPT


 * ELEVATE PRIZE


 * EY


 * IBM


 * KLARNA


 * VISA


 * FASTCO WORKS
   
   An award-winning team of journalists, designers, and videographers who tell
   brand stories through Fast Company's distinctive lens

FC Executive Board
collections


 * FAST GOVERNMENT
   
   The future of innovation and technology in government for the greater good


 * MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES
   
   Fast Company's annual ranking of businesses that are making an outsize impact


 * MOST CREATIVE PEOPLE
   
   Leaders who are shaping the future of business in creative ways


 * WORLD CHANGING IDEAS
   
   New workplaces, new food sources, new medicine--even an entirely new economic
   system


 * INNOVATION BY DESIGN
   
   Celebrating the best ideas in business

Newsletter
Events


 * INNOVATION FESTIVAL

Courses and LearningAdvertiseCurrent Issue
Current Issue
SUBSCRIBE
Follow us:

advertisement

 * 06-06-22
 * 12:00 am


4 GMAIL PRODUCTIVITY BOOSTERS YOU’RE PROBABLY NOT USING YET


VISUALLY ORGANIZE YOUR MAIL WITH A NEW SET OF STARS, SCHEDULE MESSAGES TO SEND
LATER, HARNESS THE WRITING POWER OF GOOGLE DOCS, AND MORE WITH THESE HANDY GMAIL
TIPS.

[Photo: Solen Feyissa/Unsplash]
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

More Like This
Luna 2.0 is about to launch: What you need to know after TerraUSD’s spectacular
collapse
Bye, Zoom: This smart new app is the future of online meetings
What we know about Javier Olivan, Facebook-parent Meta’s new COO
By Doug Aamoth2 minute Read

Whether you’re a new Gmail user or you’ve been using the service since it turned
out to not be an elaborate April Fools’ joke back in 2004, there’s a strong
chance you’re still not getting enough out of it, productivity-wise.




In that spirit, here’s a handful of my personal favorite hidden gems that most
people haven’t turned on, haven’t discovered, or have just plain forgotten
about.


GET MORE STARS TO PLAY WITH

Starring important messages is a good way to separate the proverbial wheat from
the chaff, but sometimes a single star doesn’t quite make it clear why a
particular message is important.

By default, you’ve got a single star to work with but head into Settings >
General and make your way down to the Stars section. From there, you can drag
additional icons into the “in use” row.



For instance, I use the regular star to denote something that’s generally
important. I use the red exclamation point for something that needs following up
on, the green check for emails I’ve successfully dealt with, the blue “I” for
something I might need to reference later, and the purple question mark for
something I’m waiting for an answer to.

So, choose the icons you want to use, then click Save Changes at the bottom of
the page. From then on, when you want to star an email, keep clicking the star
to cycle through your available icons.




SCHEDULE EMAILS TO SEND LATER

I believe the official term is called sandbagging, but maybe you’ve finished up
that project a day early and you’re looking to take your foot off the gas for a
moment.



You can schedule emails to be sent at various times—I prefer in the middle of
the night so it looks like I’m really burning the midnight oil—by clicking the
little down arrow attached to the send button.



From there, you’ve got a few pre-selected times—or click the “Pick date & time”
link to fire an email off at 3 a.m. while you’re actually fast asleep.


WRITE EMAILS IN GOOGLE DOCS

There’s just something about hammering out an email in Google Docs that feels
much more professional. Maybe it’s the wide-open white space, maybe it’s the
myriad menu items, maybe it’s just the ability to have a bunch of pre-written
emails cued up and ready to go.

From inside Google Docs, click File, then Email, then choose Email draft. You’ll
notice the document now has some familiar email elements inside it: recipients,
subject line, and message body.



Get your message just how you like it and then you can save it for later or
click the blue Gmail icon to transfer it into Gmail as a draft. This is a great
tool if you find yourself sending out the same emails over and over again, but
you want to keep them all uber-organized or share them with other people.


SEND CONFIDENTIAL, SELF-DESTRUCTING EMAILS

Look, we all know we’re not supposed to send sensitive information via email,
but sensitivity is a sliding scale so use your best judgment here.



At the bottom of a message you’re composing, there’s a little lock-clock icon on
the right-hand side. Click that to toggle Confidential Mode.



Once you’ve done that, the message you sent can’t be forwarded, copied, printed,
or downloaded. You can also set it to disappear after a certain period of time
and require the recipient to use a Google-generated passcode to unlock it.



It’s great for sending messages you don’t exactly want on the record or for
temporarily passing along President Skroob’s luggage combination.





advertisement



FEATURED VIDEO

1
/
7
Serial entrepreneur Marc Lore wants to change the way you eat
Read More

111K
4



Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Unmute

Duration 2:42
/
Current Time 0:03
Advanced Settings

Loaded: 24.49%


0:03
Remaining Time -2:39
 
FullscreenPauseUp Next

This is a modal window.



Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindowColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaque
Font Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge
StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyProportional
Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall
Caps
Reset restore all settings to the default valuesDone
Close Modal Dialog

End of dialog window.

Settings

Playback Speed
Normal
Video Quality
Auto (270p)
Closed Captions
Off
Replay the list
 * Powered by AnyClip
 * Privacy Policy

TOP ARTICLES





Serial entrepreneur Marc Lore wants to change the way you eat

advertisement


Today's Top Stories:
01

co-design
Here’s the real reason why all of the crypto logos look alike
02

news
Apple and Harry Styles echo iconic iPod ads with a bright new campaign for
AirPods
03

news
Doja Cat, Taco Bell, Mexican pizza, and the making of a marketing unicorn
04

co-design
What will the metaverse actually look like in 5 years? This studio may have
cracked it
05

news
Harvard researchers have calculated how many unnecessary deaths the Trump
administration left behind
More Top Stories:
PLAY Fast Company Top Articles: Video Settings Full Screen About Connatix
V165210 Read More Read More Read More Read More Read More Read More
Sesame Workshop’s new multi-language initiative helps displaced Afghan and
Ukrainian children
READ MORE
Sesame Workshop’s new multi‑language initiative helps displaced Afghan and
Ukrainian children 1/1 Skip Ad Continue watching after the ad Visit Advertiser
websiteGO TO PAGE




advertisement

news
630 feet below the Earth in China, an ancient forest blooms at the bottom of a
sinkhole
ideas
He quit Google to work on climate change. Now, he’s helping others do the same
thing
news
Oreo continues its LGBTQ+ allyship despite the culture war against ‘woke’
companies
leadership
How Natalie Portman and her Angel City FC cofounders are changing the game for
women’s soccer
entertainment
K-pop stans may have caused the Dallas Police Department’s surveillance app to
crash
co-design
The surprising psychology of fonts
news
Klarna’s laid-off workers are the latest casualty of tech’s cult of personality
co-design
6 ways Apple updated iOS to be ready for a mixed reality metaverse
technology
Sexual assault is already a problem in the metaverse, and a new report suggests
it will get worse
co-design
Pulse oximeters are racist, and that likely cost lives during COVID-19
co-design
Why RISD students are designing spaces for people to safely do drugs
technology
4 Gmail productivity boosters you’re probably not using yet
co-design
Ikea just redesigned one of its most popular products. Here’s why
news
Why are so many high-income Americans living paycheck to paycheck?
news
Disney is finally taking a more vocal stand against racist Star Wars fans
advertisement

advertisement

news
Could harsh parenting make children hyperactive? Here’s what behavioral research
says
news
Are you wealthy? Here’s how much money Americans say they need to live
comfortably
ideas
No soil, no problem: Reshaping agriculture to be more carbon friendly
co-design
18% of offices are vacant. Here’s a brilliant idea for how to use that space
ideas
Climate inaction could cost the world $178 trillion
leadership
Six Verbs That Make You Sound Weak (No Matter Your Job Title)
news
How to watch Apple’s WWDC 2022 keynote today: iOS 16 and more expected
leadership
Exclusive: Modern Fertility announces a new campaign featuring female athletes
leadership
Millennials are driving the Great Resignation. They’re also working harder
because of it
technology
In Armenia’s biotech boom, remarkable women are leading the way
magazine
These innovative projects are changing the health industry
leadership
A psychologist explains why negativity dominates your daily thoughts, and what
to do about it
news
IRS audits are on the rise: Your chances are now double if you’re in this income
range
technology
Here are the programs that will help you finally learn to draw
advertisement



IMPACT

Impact


SHOULD WE PROTECT NATURE FOR ITS OWN SAKE? FOR ITS ECONOMIC VALUE? BECAUSE IT
MAKES US HAPPY? YES

Impact


3 CHARTS THAT EXPLAIN THE U.S.’S NEW RECORDS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION

Impact


SOME STATES WANT TO RAISE THE AGE FOR ASSAULT RIFLE PURCHASES. WOULD THAT CURB
MASS SHOOTINGS?


NEWS

News


WHY RAPPER MACKLEMORE SAYS CREATING HIS GOLF APPAREL BRAND IS A LOT LIKE MAKING
MUSIC

News


DOJA CAT, TACO BELL, MEXICAN PIZZA, AND THE MAKING OF A MARKETING UNICORN

News


WHY ARE SO MANY HIGH-INCOME AMERICANS LIVING PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK?


CO.DESIGN

Co.Design


WHY ‘LOVE ISLAND’ IS DITCHING FAST FASHION IN FAVOR OF SECONDHAND

Co.Design


SCHOOL SHOOTINGS ARE NOT A DESIGN ISSUE

Co.Design


THE SURPRISING PSYCHOLOGY OF FONTS


WORK LIFE

Work Life


EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WRITING A RESIGNATION LETTER (SAMPLES
INCLUDED)

Work Life


3 WAYS TO HARNESS YOUR SELF DOUBT TO IMPROVE YOUR CONFIDENCE AND CREATIVITY

Work Life


4 LESSONS I LEARNED IN MY JOURNEY FROM VC TO CEO

 * Advertise
 * Privacy Policy
 * Terms
 * Notice of Collection
 * Do Not Sell My Data
 * Permissions
 * Help Center
 * About Us
 * Site Map
 * Fast Company & Inc © 2022 Mansueto Ventures, LLC
 * 






FAST COMPANY

Follow
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

Login
 * Co.Design
 * Tech
 * Work Life
 * News
 * Impact
 * Podcasts
 * Video
 * Recommender
 * Innovation Festival 360IF360
 * Subscribe
 * 
 * FastCo Works
    * AWS
    * Genpact
    * IBM


 * HOMEPAGE


 * CO.DESIGN


 * TECH


 * WORK LIFE


 * NEWS


 * IMPACT


 * PODCASTS


 * VIDEO


 * RECOMMENDER


 * INNOVATION FESTIVAL 360


 * SUBSCRIBE

Help Center
fastco works


 * AWS


 * DELOITTE


 * DEPT


 * ELEVATE PRIZE


 * EY


 * IBM


 * KLARNA


 * VISA


 * FASTCO WORKS
   
   An award-winning team of journalists, designers, and videographers who tell
   brand stories through Fast Company's distinctive lens

FC Executive Board
collections


 * FAST GOVERNMENT
   
   The future of innovation and technology in government for the greater good


 * MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES
   
   Fast Company's annual ranking of businesses that are making an outsize impact


 * MOST CREATIVE PEOPLE
   
   Leaders who are shaping the future of business in creative ways


 * WORLD CHANGING IDEAS
   
   New workplaces, new food sources, new medicine--even an entirely new economic
   system


 * INNOVATION BY DESIGN
   
   Celebrating the best ideas in business

Newsletter
Events


 * INNOVATION FESTIVAL

Courses and LearningAdvertiseCurrent Issue
Current Issue
SUBSCRIBE
Follow us:

advertisement

advertisement

 * 06-06-22
 * 12:00 am


4 GMAIL PRODUCTIVITY BOOSTERS YOU’RE PROBABLY NOT USING YET


VISUALLY ORGANIZE YOUR MAIL WITH A NEW SET OF STARS, SCHEDULE MESSAGES TO SEND
LATER, HARNESS THE WRITING POWER OF GOOGLE DOCS, AND MORE WITH THESE HANDY GMAIL
TIPS.

[Photo: Solen Feyissa/Unsplash]
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

By Doug Aamoth2 minute Read

Whether you’re a new Gmail user or you’ve been using the service since it turned
out to not be an elaborate April Fools’ joke back in 2004, there’s a strong
chance you’re still not getting enough out of it, productivity-wise.

advertisement

advertisement



In that spirit, here’s a handful of my personal favorite hidden gems that most
people haven’t turned on, haven’t discovered, or have just plain forgotten
about.


GET MORE STARS TO PLAY WITH

Starring important messages is a good way to separate the proverbial wheat from
the chaff, but sometimes a single star doesn’t quite make it clear why a
particular message is important.

By default, you’ve got a single star to work with but head into Settings >
General and make your way down to the Stars section. From there, you can drag
additional icons into the “in use” row.

advertisement


For instance, I use the regular star to denote something that’s generally
important. I use the red exclamation point for something that needs following up
on, the green check for emails I’ve successfully dealt with, the blue “I” for
something I might need to reference later, and the purple question mark for
something I’m waiting for an answer to.

So, choose the icons you want to use, then click Save Changes at the bottom of
the page. From then on, when you want to star an email, keep clicking the star
to cycle through your available icons.

advertisement



SCHEDULE EMAILS TO SEND LATER

I believe the official term is called sandbagging, but maybe you’ve finished up
that project a day early and you’re looking to take your foot off the gas for a
moment.



You can schedule emails to be sent at various times—I prefer in the middle of
the night so it looks like I’m really burning the midnight oil—by clicking the
little down arrow attached to the send button.

advertisement


From there, you’ve got a few pre-selected times—or click the “Pick date & time”
link to fire an email off at 3 a.m. while you’re actually fast asleep.


WRITE EMAILS IN GOOGLE DOCS

There’s just something about hammering out an email in Google Docs that feels
much more professional. Maybe it’s the wide-open white space, maybe it’s the
myriad menu items, maybe it’s just the ability to have a bunch of pre-written
emails cued up and ready to go.

From inside Google Docs, click File, then Email, then choose Email draft. You’ll
notice the document now has some familiar email elements inside it: recipients,
subject line, and message body.

advertisement


Get your message just how you like it and then you can save it for later or
click the blue Gmail icon to transfer it into Gmail as a draft. This is a great
tool if you find yourself sending out the same emails over and over again, but
you want to keep them all uber-organized or share them with other people.


SEND CONFIDENTIAL, SELF-DESTRUCTING EMAILS

Look, we all know we’re not supposed to send sensitive information via email,
but sensitivity is a sliding scale so use your best judgment here.

advertisement


At the bottom of a message you’re composing, there’s a little lock-clock icon on
the right-hand side. Click that to toggle Confidential Mode.



Once you’ve done that, the message you sent can’t be forwarded, copied, printed,
or downloaded. You can also set it to disappear after a certain period of time
and require the recipient to use a Google-generated passcode to unlock it.

advertisement


It’s great for sending messages you don’t exactly want on the record or for
temporarily passing along President Skroob’s luggage combination.


advertisement

advertisement

advertisement

advertisement






VIDEO

How this CEO is changing the way we bake
Bread Alone is the first commercial bakery in the US to Operate on 100%
renewable energy bakery. The family run business have been baking with organic
grains since our first loaf in 1983. This is Fast Company's Changing the Game
More Videos


0 seconds of 4 minutes, 51 secondsVolume 0%

Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled
Play/PauseSPACE
Increase Volume↑
Decrease Volume↓
Seek Forward→
Seek Backward←
Captions On/Offc
Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf
Mute/Unmutem
Seek %0-9
Next Up
Disney defends Star Wars actor against racist trolls
03:24
facebook twitter Email
Linkhttps://www.fastcompany.com/video/how-this-ceo-is-changing-the-way-we-bake/YuVE84iS?jwsource=cl
Copied
Auto180p1080p720p406p270p180p
Live
00:00
04:52
04:51








 



IMPACT

Impact


SHOULD WE PROTECT NATURE FOR ITS OWN SAKE? FOR ITS ECONOMIC VALUE? BECAUSE IT
MAKES US HAPPY? YES

Impact


3 CHARTS THAT EXPLAIN THE U.S.’S NEW RECORDS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION

Impact


SOME STATES WANT TO RAISE THE AGE FOR ASSAULT RIFLE PURCHASES. WOULD THAT CURB
MASS SHOOTINGS?


NEWS

News


WHY RAPPER MACKLEMORE SAYS CREATING HIS GOLF APPAREL BRAND IS A LOT LIKE MAKING
MUSIC

News


DOJA CAT, TACO BELL, MEXICAN PIZZA, AND THE MAKING OF A MARKETING UNICORN

News


WHY ARE SO MANY HIGH-INCOME AMERICANS LIVING PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK?


CO.DESIGN

Co.Design


WHY ‘LOVE ISLAND’ IS DITCHING FAST FASHION IN FAVOR OF SECONDHAND

Co.Design


SCHOOL SHOOTINGS ARE NOT A DESIGN ISSUE

Co.Design


THE SURPRISING PSYCHOLOGY OF FONTS


WORK LIFE

Work Life


EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WRITING A RESIGNATION LETTER (SAMPLES
INCLUDED)

Work Life


3 WAYS TO HARNESS YOUR SELF DOUBT TO IMPROVE YOUR CONFIDENCE AND CREATIVITY

Work Life


4 LESSONS I LEARNED IN MY JOURNEY FROM VC TO CEO

 * Advertise
 * Privacy Policy
 * Terms
 * Notice of Collection
 * Do Not Sell My Data
 * Permissions
 * Help Center
 * About Us
 * Site Map
 * Fast Company & Inc © 2022 Mansueto Ventures, LLC
 * 





search by queryly Advanced Search



WE VALUE YOUR PRIVACY

To deliver the best possible experience, we and our partners use techniques such
as cookies to store and/or access information on a device and provide
personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and
product development. Precise geolocation and information about device
characteristics can be used. Personal data such as network address and browsing
activity may be processed.

You may click to consent to the processing described above or review options and
make granular choices. Some processing may not require your consent, but you
have a right to object. Your preferences will apply to this site only. You may
change your mind at any time by visiting our privacy policy.


review options accept & continue