“Time is really the only capital any human being has, and the only thing he can’t afford to lose.” -Thomas Edison

The beginning stages of any side hustle require a considerable amount of time. Creative entrepreneurs need every available minute to help grow their business. Don’t waste it unnecessarily. And by unnecessarily, I mean spending time on tedious tasks that can be simplified to help make you more productive.

I know the feeling of being overwhelmed. Working a 9 to 5, coupled with a family (especially the demands of a newborn—I mean, I’m writing this blog with her on my chest as we speak) and my personal needs + goals, having balance has always been a challenge. Simplifying my life became my mantra. So, I took inventory of time consumers and found email to be #1 on the list.

Gmail is arguably the best email platform in the world. I may be a bit biased, but it's hard for anyone to deny the functionality and ease Gmail gives its users.

But what about that full inbox you struggle through each day? I know. It's a beast! Here are few ways to make taming your Gmail account super easy.

Fix Your Mistakes
No more sending emails only to find out moments later they contained errors. Instead of writing another apology email or feeling like you actually may not be smarter than a 5th grader, use Gmail’s 'Undo Send'. This handy feature can recall emails up to 30 seconds after they have been sent. It's simple to enable. Just follow these steps. Settings>General>Enable Undo Send



Work Smarter Not Harder
If you find yourself answering the same questions repeatedly with similar content, then canned responses are for you. This feature allows you to save and reuse common email templates at the push of a button. Now, instead of typing the same response ten different times to ten different clients, you can just copy and paste your response and make it into a template. This feature saves a ton of time. Settings>Labs>Enable Canned Responses



Copy the Content, Not The Style
The internet is filled with great content. And sometimes you want to copy and paste it into an email, but not with the original formatting. Just remove it!  You’ll find this little feature in your formatting toolbar located at the bottom of the compose email window.



Task It
You may not be able to respond to an email right away, but that doesn't mean it should get buried in your inbox. Leave yourself a reminder by using Tasks. Using the Gmail dropdown in the upper left corner above the Compose button, select Tasks. Once the Tasks window is open, choose the emails you want on the list. You can select an email(s) from the inbox or open the message, then click the More tab. Now you have a list of emails you will know to respond to later. Click on the task to go directly to the thread. No more searching.

Use Gmail Offline
‘Gmail Offline’ is a Chrome Extension that allows you to access your inbox without being connected to the internet. Use this feature the next time your internet connection goes dark; like on a plane or while riding the Metro home. Add it to Chrome now: Gmail Offline.

Send Your Email as a Text Message
It’s no secret; people tend to read a text message a lot quicker than an email. If you’re working from your inbox, but need to get something read right away, give this feature a try. This Chrome extension allows you to send a text message version of your email directly from your Gmail inbox. Check it out: Send Your Email to SMS (text).