The first time you log in to Gmail it is pretty much perfect for TRO: no email notifications, grouped conversations, easy archiving, and easy archive retrieval.
Problems with Gmail begin when you start selecting add-ons for your Gmail.
- Priority Inbox. Gmail introduced this feature to help people get through their email faster. Unfortunately, even if Priority Inbox works perfectly, you still have to go through all of your email. The problem is that Priority Inbox gives you a false sense of security, that maybe everything important has already been taken care of. The only way to know that you haven’t missed anything is to clear your inbox to zero. Disable Priority Inbox by going to Mail Settings (click the gear on the upper-right corner of Gmail). Click the Priority Inbox label at the top and select Do not show Priority Inbox.
- Email notifications. Gmail doesn’t come with email notifications, and you don’t want them your computer interrupting you every time a new email comes in. Even a visual icon that reminds you of new email is a problem. Turn off all notifications, including:
- Desktop notifications. Go to Mail Settings (Upper-right corner of Gmail, possibly hidden by a gear icon) and click on the General tab. Make sure that under Desktop Notifications you have selected Mail notifications off. If you do not see Desktop Notifications, you don’t need to worry about it.
- Google Talk. Turn off email notifications by clicking Settings at the top, going to Notifications and unchecking the box for email notifications. Consider disabling all notifications, depending on whether or not Google Talk is a work tool or a distraction.
- Cell phone.
- iGoogle. Disable email on your iGoogle page. In fact, consider abandoning your iGoogle page entirely. News feeds, slide shows, social media feeds, coupon codes, and koi ponds are all designed to grab your attention. Every time you open your search page, those widgets will distract you.
- Unread Messages Icon. Even an icon will distract you. Go to Google Labs (under the gear on upper-right corner) and find the Unread Messages Icon feature. Disable it.
- Advanced
- Turn ON the Undo Send feature. (Settings > Labs > Undo Send).
- Make sure Conversation View is on (Settings > Mail Settings > General > Conversation View).
- Don’t play Old Snakey in Gmail. (Settings > Labs > Old Snakey).
- Turn off Superstars add-on. (Settings > Labs > Superstars).
- Turn off multiple inboxes. (Settings > Labs > Multiple Inboxes).
Working Offline in Gmail
You can read and compose emails in Gmail even when you don’t have Internet access. Follow Google’s instructions for installing Gmail offline if you want this feature.
The first time you log in to Gmail it is pretty much perfect for TRO: no email notifications, grouped conversations, easy archiving, and easy archive retrieval.
Problems with Gmail begin when you start selecting add-ons for your Gmail.
- Priority Inbox. Gmail introduced this feature to help people get through their email faster. Unfortunately, even if Priority Inbox works perfectly, you still have to go through all of your email. The problem is that Priority Inbox gives you a false sense of security, that maybe everything important has already been taken care of. The only way to know that you haven’t missed anything is to clear your inbox to zero. Disable Priority Inbox by going to Mail Settings (click the gear on the upper-right corner of Gmail). Click the Priority Inbox label at the top and select Do not show Priority Inbox.
- Email notifications. Gmail doesn’t come with email notifications, and you don’t want them your computer interrupting you every time a new email comes in. Even a visual icon that reminds you of new email is a problem. Turn off all notifications, including:
- Desktop notifications. Go to Mail Settings (Upper-right corner of Gmail, possibly hidden by a gear icon) and click on the General tab. Make sure that under Desktop Notifications you have selected Mail notifications off. If you do not see Desktop Notifications, you don’t need to worry about it.
- Google Talk. Turn off email notifications by clicking Settings at the top, going to Notifications and unchecking the box for email notifications. Consider disabling all notifications, depending on whether or not Google Talk is a work tool or a distraction.
- Cell phone.
- iGoogle. Disable email on your iGoogle page. In fact, consider abandoning your iGoogle page entirely. News feeds, slide shows, social media feeds, coupon codes, and koi ponds are all designed to grab your attention. Every time you open your search page, those widgets will distract you.
- Unread Messages Icon. Even an icon will distract you. Go to Google Labs (under the gear on upper-right corner) and find the Unread Messages Icon feature. Disable it.
- Advanced
- Turn ON the Undo Send feature. (Settings > Labs > Undo Send).
- Make sure Conversation View is on (Settings > Mail Settings > General > Conversation View).
- Don’t play Old Snakey in Gmail. (Settings > Labs > Old Snakey).
- Turn off Superstars add-on. (Settings > Labs > Superstars).
- Turn off multiple inboxes. (Settings > Labs > Multiple Inboxes).
Working Offline in Gmail
You can read and compose emails in Gmail even when you don’t have Internet access. Follow Google’s instructions for installing Gmail offline if you want this feature.
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