Gmail: 5 Clever Time Savers

your message only once, save it, and then select it from a dropdown menu when you need it next.

To enable Canned Responses, navigate to your Settings, click the Labs tab, select Enable next to the feature, and then save your changes at the bottom.

To add a new canned response to your list, enter your text into an email, then click More Options > Canned responses > New canned response. This is where you'll find your saved responses whenever you need them.

3. Reply-all threads flood your inbox.
If a coworker included you in an email thread and you want out, Gmail offers a feature that will keep your inbox from filling up. "Mute conversations" prevents the thread from reappearing in your inbox.

To mute a thread, select it by checking the box beside it. Then select the "Mute" option from the dropdown menu under "More." After you mute a conversation, the emails are removed from your inbox and archived. You can still see the conversation in the "All Mail" label, where you'll see a new label called "Muted."

To unmute a conversation, check the box, and click Move to Inbox.

4. You're approaching your storage limit.
If you need to free up storage but don't want to delete any old messages or files, send them to your archive folder. Gmail deletes messages in your trash after 30 days, while archived messages are kept forever.

To free up space quickly, search first for emails with big attachments. In the search field within Gmail, type "size:10m" to find files larger than 10 MB or "size:15m" for files larger than 15 MB, for example. You could also pair your query with a date stamp to surface either newer or older files. To find emails larger than 10 MB from longer than a year ago, type in "size:10m older_than:12m."

5. Schedule emails for later.
Chrome's Boomerang extension for Gmail lets you plan your emails ahead of time and schedules them to send at a later date. Once you download the attachment, your compose window will include a new red button called Send Later. Check the box next to this. Enter in a date and time -- anywhere from an hour to a month in the future, or a more specific date and time -- and then click confirm.

In addition, you can use the extension to resurface emails others have sent you. If you have a project due later in the week, for example, select the email, click the Boomerang button at the top, and pick a time or day to return the conversation to the top your inbox as a reminder.

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