With a little help from Google (and others)

I’m a huge fan of Google’s Chrome browser, Gmail and Google Docs (now Drive). At work, we use google apps & mail for business. I switched from using Outlook as my email client to Gmail’s browser based interface. A few $0 cost tweaks to Gmail and Chrome have helped my productivity significantly. Here is how:

1. Gmail labs

Click on the gear icon on the top right of your gmail inbox page

choose settings and then click on Labs. Search for labs using the search box. The ones I use are:

Auto Advance - automatically go to the next email instead of the inbox after you delete an email

Background Send - no more waiting for gmail to deliver your message after you click send. Get to the next email already!

Google Calendar gadget - a tiny but functional google calendar in a box in the left column. Virtually eliminates the need to run a separate tab for calendar.

Google Docs gadget - similar to calendar gadget, provides quick access to recently used docs

Unread message icon - shows unread email on your gmail tab in Chrome. There are other extensions that notify you of new email, I find this one allows me to not get distracted by a constant stream of new email, yet keeps me on top of my inbox

Mark as read button - faster way to mark emails read

2. Chrome Extensions - from the Chrome Web Store (chrome.google.com/webstore)

Boomerang for Gmail: 

Makes following up on sent messages very easy. No more flagging of emails or creating follow up tasks - Boomerang does all the work for you.

Rapportive: The must have social plug-in - enriches email conversations with recent twitter, facebook, linkedin (and other social web) activity. For example, see recent twitter posts on the right hand side of an inbound email from a friend or customer - providing an easy opportunity to engage with them beyond that email.

Gmelius: Several user interface improvement options (too many to list). My favorite is click to auto scroll to the top of the inbox. No more manual scrolling to the top.

Are you a Chrome or Gmail fan? Do you have any favorite labs, extensions or other tips to share?