Despite the name, it’s not the same as hitting the snooze button on your alarm clock. When you snooze an email, you’re putting it off until a later time. Instead of sleeping, you’re focusing on more pressing matters so you can return to the email later. Not only that, but you’re also setting a reminder for your future self. If you tend to forget emails, this strategy can be a lifesaver. Here’s how to snooze emails in Gmail.
Advantages of snoozing emails
When you’re busy with multiple tasks, the last thing you want is a new job to juggle. Sometimes, an important email can go unnoticed because you’re focused on more urgent duties. According to the Boehly Center for Excellence in Finance, the average person gets 78 new work emails daily. With that many emails, it’s easy to lose track of important messages. That’s where the snooze button in Gmail comes in. It reminds you to revisit certain emails in the future. Here are a few ways this productivity tip will make your life easier:
It keeps you accountable: If your boss sends you tasks through email, it’s easy to lose track of important messages. But this can seriously hurt your team’s productivity. With the snooze button, you can remind yourself to read an email you might have otherwise overlooked.It helps you multitask: Let’s say you’re working on a big project due today. Suddenly, your manager emails you with a project due tomorrow. With the snooze button, you can send that email to the top of your inbox tomorrow. It makes life easier: Having a cluttered inbox full of tasks is stressful. Use the snooze button to stop feeling overwhelmed. You can put off less important messages, focus on the pressing stuff and schedule reminders for the future.
RELATED: If your inbox is a mess, here’s another way to keep your email in check So if you ever feel like your inbox is turning into an untamable bull, remember the snooze button. It’s like a rope you can use to rein in your overwhelming workload. We’ll tell you exactly how to use it below.
How to snooze emails in Gmail
Pull up your Gmail inbox on your computer. Next, hover over the email you want to snooze. Four icons will pop up on the right of the message when your cursor is over it. On the far right is the snooze button. The logo looks like a clock. Click it to make sure that the email comes back to you at a later time. Once you click the snooze icon, you’ll see a new pop-up box. There are three options: Tomorrow, Next week or Pick date & time. If you want to be specific, instead of picking 8 a.m. as the default, select Pick date & time. From there, a new box will pop up. It looks like a calendar. Here, you can pick exactly when you want this email to show up at the top of your inbox. It will look like this: Skip ahead to future months by clicking the arrow buttons and selecting the day. Or you could save time by typing the date in the text on the right. You can also adjust the time you want to see the email. For example, the snooze feature automatically sets emails to remind you at 8 a.m. However, you can change that to any other time you want. Just click on 8:00 a.m. on the right to switch the time. There aren’t any drop-down menus; you’ll have to type the time instead. Tap Save when you have the reminder set to when you want to receive it. Although these tips apply to your computer, you can also get the job done on the go.
How to snooze emails on your iPhone or Android
It’s pretty easy.
First, open the Gmail app on your smartphone. Next, select the email in your inbox. Then, tap the three dots. They’re in the top-right corner. Now you’ll see a drop-down menu. Select Snooze.
From there, you can set the time. It’s as easy as pie. Sadly, though, not everything in the modern world is this easy. In fact, there are lots of tech challenges you’ll deal with on your PC or smartphone. On the bright side, there are a ton of clever workarounds to all the tech issues you face. We’re always here to teach you fixes, tips and neat digital tricks. Tap or click for five ways to get more out of Gmail, Maps, Calendar, and Docs.
