Gmail Filters and Labels

@LisaBerghoff/@MrKimDHS

I think I have a threshold of about 5 or 6 unread emails before I get a little twitchy. I know I probably shouldn't, but I've got my work Gmail attached to my personal cellphone, and I am constantly checking it at home. So I am a little amazed when I see teachers sitting on 10 thousand unread emails. But I am not surprised; teachers can get an absurd amount of emails on a daily basis, and it's about time we clean up our inboxes. 

Filters: You're the boss - make some rules

Filters are essentially rules you make and Gmail will apply theses rules to any email that comes your way. So for example, I was receiving a large number of concussion related emails last year, and while it was eye-opening for me to see the pure volume of students in concussion protocol, those emails were not specifically pertinent to me. So I created a filter - all concussion related emails from our school nurse were tagged with a "concussion" label and filtered from my main inbox, to a side folder. That way I don't necessarily see them in my main inbox, but I can access them anytime I need to. 

1.  First click the down arrow in Gmail's search box

2. This will open up Gmail's advance search settings. Here you can create the parameters to structure your Filter rules. So here's an example:

• Emails from Dtiveron@dist113.org
• Has the words: "Makerspace" or "3D printing"
• Mark as Important and Never Send it to Spam

Now Gmail knows that anytime an email from Derrick Tiveron mentions Makerspace, or 3D printing, it'll follow the rules. Notice there are many different rules we could apply. You can also apply these filter rules to past emails that already live in your inbox!

Gmail Labels - organize your "folders"

Creating Gmail Labels is essentially creating folders to organize your emails - I know many people enjoyed Microsoft Outlook's capacity for storage and organization of emails. So by creating a label, and attaching that label to an email, you're basically tagging that email and organizing it into a folder. So for example, as a wrestling coach, I will often tag my wrestling related emails under the, wait for it, "Wrestling" label, and viola - those emails can all be easily accessed by clicking on the Wrestling label. Here's how:

1. Create labels - on the left hand side of your Gmail page, under "inbox" you will see "More." Click on that, and then you will see "Manage Labels," and "Create Labels." 

2. Once created, to tag an email with a particular Label - just click on the checkbox and then click on the label button to assign.

Do you have a successful or useful filter or label combo? Comment below!