Blake Burge Profile picture
Apr 2, 2022 17 tweets 7 min read Read on X
It's time to run your inbox––instead of it running you.

12 powerful Gmail tips every user should know: 📬
Undo Send:

Don't tell me you haven't done it.

You clicked "reply all" on a message including your boss when you meant to only reply to your friend.

Save yourself!

With Undo Send, Gmail allows you to recall a message sent in error for up to 30 seconds after you click send.
Tie emails to Tasks:

Look, we're all busy.

When your inbox is filling up faster than you can handle, it's easy to forget to reply, miss an assignment, or just plain feel overwhelmed.

Connecting emails to tasks can help.

Get reminders, add details, subtasks, and more.
Schedule Send:

With schedule send, you can draft an email at a time that works for you.

Then schedule it to be sent at a time that fits your employees' and customers' day.

In the world of remote work, this is critical.

It's a win-win.

Work on your time, send on theirs.
Confidential Mode:

Sometimes you send an email you'd prefer not live on forever.

Better yet, you'd like it if the recipient wasn't able to save, copy, or forward to someone else.

With confidential mode, you can do just that.

Set expiration dates, require passcodes, & more.
Canned Responses:

I don't know about you, but I get tired of saying the same thing over and over again.

I like to let people know I've read their message, but I hate typing "sounds good" or "looking forward to it" every day of my life.

Settings->advanced->templates->enable:
Mute Conversations:

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's being copied on an email that has nothing to do with me.

Worse yet, getting pinged with responses from everyone included in the thread.

There's an easy fix.

Mute conversations & get on with your life.

Here's how:
Get rid of those annoying tabs:

Primary, Social, Promotions, etc. I don't need them.

If you're like me and just want a simple inbox where all messages reside, boy, have I got a tip for you.

Turn off the categories and clean up your inbox in a few easy clicks:
Skip the inbox:

Filters are one of the most underutilized features in Gmail.

What seems like simple sorting on the surface, can help you unlock productivity in ways you never imagined.

• Skip your inbox
• Apply labels
• Forward
• Auto-reply with templates & more.
Shortcuts:

Learning keyboard shortcuts is like opening the door to a world of speed and ease you didn't know existed.

Effortlessly move between messages, archive, send & more.

Wait... Not so fast.

You need to activate them first.

Once they're on, SHIFT + ? shows you a list.
Preview emails:

Converting from Outlook & miss your "preview pane?"

Gmail lets you preview as well.

•Head to settings > all-settings
•Locate Inbox > enable reading pane

Now you can read mail right next to your inbox - Read & write faster while adding more context.
See more (or less) emails at a time:

For me, my inbox serves as a defacto "to-do" list.

If a message is there, I haven't taken action.

That said, the number of messages shown can be a bit too much at times.

Limit the max page size and you control how many you see.
Auto-Advance:

I'm an "inbox-zero" type of person.

I like to keep it clean, organized, and as minimal as possible.

Enabling auto-advance helps to speed up the process of sorting your mail each day.

Once you mute, delete, or archive a message, the next is automatically shown.
Bonus: New Gmail View

You may have noticed going through this thread that my Gmail doesn't look the same as yours.

If this is the case, you should check out the new Gmail view.

Here's where to find it, enable it, and see for yourself:
That's all for today!

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If you enjoyed this one, my guess is you'll like these as well: Check it out 👇🏻
Last, you can be an email & spreadsheet guru but without a solid team by your side, it'll be tough to make any real progress.

My friend @darrenchait lays out an outstanding framework here:

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More from @blakeaburge

Jun 1, 2024
Steve Harvey often talks to the studio audience during commercial breaks when filming Family Feud.

According to him, there's one difference between successful people and those who aren't:
"What goes on in here." (Your own mind)

" The hard part is believing that it's applicable to you. You've just gotta get out your own way sometimes."

I think a lot about that first point.

It applies across so many areas of life.
Relationships, careers, health and fitness, you name it.

How many times do we decide something isn't "for us."

We rule ourselves out and say we're not smart enough, we don't know the right people, we don't have the resources.
Read 5 tweets
May 27, 2024
In 2011, Denzel Washington was asked to give a commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania.

Although the entire message is quite good, a single 54-second segment changed the way I think about life...
In less than a minute, Washington hit these 3 points:

Point 1: If you don't fail, you're not even trying.

Point 2: To get something you've never had, you have to do something you've never done.

Point 3: Imagine the ghosts of your unfulfilled potential.
The third one really struck me.

It's from a larger quote by motivational speaker, Les Brown.

“Imagine you’re on your deathbed—and standing around your bed are the ghosts representing your unfilled potential...
Read 6 tweets
May 25, 2024
I'm convinced that there is one skill that separates truly intelligent people from those that aren't:

Listening.

This concept of "being a recorder" by Rick Rubin explains it perfectly.

In less than a minute, Rubin provides 4 simple steps that will change how you think about...
your interactions with others.

Step 1: "It starts with coming in blank. Not having any preconceived ideas, being open, and really listening.

Not thinking about what you're going to say next or what your opinion is."
Step 2: "Basically being a recorder.

Just hearing what comes in.

Processing that information and trying to do our best to do that without any of the beliefs we might have to impact what that is."
Read 9 tweets
Jun 24, 2023
2 months after Rocky I was released in 1976, Sylvester Stallone did an interview with the BBC.

But it wasn't the Italian Stallion throwing punches.

It was the host––who at one point said:

"It was fairly presumptuous of you wasn't it? To expect to be able to star in it, because… https://t.co/5tQrGh80iMtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
You can watch the full interview here:

If you like content like this, I also write a weekly newsletter. It's free, and nearly 30K people read it every Sunday.
https://t.co/v49JfZ7r9p
blake.ck.page
This part where Stallone talks about how much money he was offered to "just go away" is pure gold.

A lot to be said for failing on your own terms:
Read 4 tweets
May 27, 2023
"The solution to your problem is not going to be found in the problem."

I've spoken with 3 different friends in the last week (all high-achievers) who've expressed to me some level of feeling overwhelmed.

They all use the same tactic to get back on track––

Detachment:
Everyone has the same issue.

We're so narrowly focused on our own problems, the immediate issues in front of us, the trees instead of the forest, that we can't find our way out.

We've narrowed our field of vision to the point we're unable to see what we need to do.
I've always been hesitant to speak up in meetings.

Fear of sounding dumb, or giving an incorrect answer has held me back.

Jocko provides a great illustration here:

Sometimes, a perspective from the outside (even from someone less experienced) is exactly what is needed.
Read 8 tweets
May 10, 2023
Humans have a tendency to believe false information.

It's called the "Illusory Truth Effect"

Here's why it happens and how you can train your brain to overcome it: Image
First, some background...

In 1977, researchers from Villanova and Temple were the first to coin the term during a study conducted over a 5-week period.

Separated into 3 sessions, participants were given a list of 60 statements.

Their task was simple.
Determine what was true & what was false.

In each session, 40 statements were unique, while the remaining 20 were repeated from the previous rounds.

Over the course of the three meetings, researchers noticed an interesting trend...
Read 16 tweets

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