Zen computing: simplify with gmail. part 3 of 20

Tip 3: Consolidate. Make gmail the one Inbox to rule them all.

The problem: you're a modern, tech savvy man or woman, and have therefore accumulated numerous email accounts over the years like a cellar full of fine wine. You've got a home email, a work email, an internet-based email like Hotmail or Yahoo! mail, and a second home email from switching your cable provider from Time Warner to Comcast.

Oh, and you've now gotten that gmail account I just told you would simplify your life. How's this supposed to work, exactly?

It will. The third step will have you creating a single, master Inbox. One place where all your email goes, one place for you to go and check all your accounts.

This step will also take more time to set up than previous tips and most others that will follow. Believe me, it's well worth the investment. Here's what to do:

Go to gmail's Accounts tab from the Settings page (again, the Settings link is in the upper right corner.) Then look at the second section down, 'Get mail from other accounts.' You're about to configure gmail's Mail Fetcher feature. Follow these steps, which you can also access by clicking 'learn more:

1. Chose Add another mail account.
2. Enter the full email address of the account you'd like to access, then click Next Step.
3. Gmail will populate sample settings, but we recommend checking with your other provider to learn the correct server name and port. Enter your Password.

Now, decide whether to:

• leave a copy of the message on the server
• retrieve using Secure Sockets Layer
• label incomig messages
• archive incoming messages

When you've made your selections, choose Add Account.

And here's even more good news: wnce the account has been added, you' can use it as the 'From' address in any email. You can even set it as the default 'From' email address. This allows you to compose messages in Gmail, but have them appear to be sent from your other email account.

My recommendations about the selections above for those setting up their first account: do leave a copy on the server, don't use SSL, don't archive the messages - you want them in your Inbox typically. Use a label if you want, but I typically don't - I don't care where the email came from, I just want to see it and respond when it hits my Inbox.

Another bonus: gmail is smart enough to use the 'Sent-To' address as the default 'Reply-From' address. In other words, if you respond through gmail to an email sent to a non-gmail address, gmail will use the non-gmail address in the 'From' field by default.

Have fun setting up those accounts; your email life will feel less cluttered the second you do.

And subscribe to this thread - more tips on the way shortly.