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Zen and Gmail part 7 of 20

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:47:55 -0600

Tip 7: Add your big huge list of Contacts.

Here's where Gmail continues to take over ground that was once only the purview of a program like Outlook or Lotus Notes.

It's now time to add your list of contacts from one of these programs, and thus create a centralized database of your contacts that will never be far from reach ever again.

You'll need to compete two relatively simple tasks to carry this out:

First, create a Comma Separated Values file from your current list of contacts. From Outlook, you'll follow these steps:

1. In Outlook choose the File menu, then Import and Export.
2. Click Export to a file, click Next, and choose Comma Separated Values (Windows), and click Next.
3. You now see a list of Outlook folders. From here, choose the Contacts folder you want to export and click Next. (Or ,maybe even a folder you've specifically created for this operation - maybe you don't want all your Outlook contacts to be exported, and are using this to purge some old stuff.)
4. Now choose the location where you want to save the contacts, type a name for the .csv file, and then click OK.
5. Click Next and then Finish.

That's it for the first stage. For the second stage, you will import that CSV file into the Gmail contacts list. Follow these steps as mentioned on the gmail support pages on this topic:

1. Sign in to Gmail.
2. Click Contacts (located below your list of views) on any Gmail page.
3. Click Import in the top portion of the Contact Manager.
4. Click the Browse... or Choose File button and locate the CSV file you'd like to upload.
5. Select the file and click the Import button.

Once you've successfully uploaded the document, Gmail will display the number of contacts imported.

Now you have every you ever contacted in Outlook ready and waiting for an email using your new Gmail account. To locate a contact, just Compose an Email and start typing their name in the To: section. Any matches are shown immediately from your My Contacts list.

And even better, you can sync all these Gmail contacts to your phone. That's covered in the next posting. Be sure to Subscribe to get the update as soon as it posts.

Zen and Gmail part 6 of 20

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 15:47:57 -0600

Tip 6: Add a list of tasks to your gmail interface.

It's just about as simple as it sounds. To add tasks to gmail, follow these steps:

1. From gmail, click on Settings, then choose the Labs tab.
2. Now, just enable the Tasks Lab.

That's it. You should now see a Tasks link at the bottom of your Inbox list, just under the Contacts. This list can be minimized or displayed as you please. To get started adding tasks, just click the Tasks link and start typing.

And it's even better than that. With gmail's Tasks, you can create multiple task lists. This can help organize your tasks into more manageable groupings, and help you focus on the tasks that need to get done now, and those that can be scheduled.

To add another task list, just click on the task menu button in the lower right-hand corner and choose New List... You will also see all available lists from this menu.

For example, I currently roll with three main task lists: Daily, Weekly, and Yearly. The first two are self explanatory, the Yearly is more of a list of goals I'm working towards. They can help me define some of the weekly goals, which in turn help me list out what needs to get done today.

I also keep a separate task list for any projects I'm working on, and use initials for things I've delegated to other people but still need to make sure get done. The 'due by' feature really helps in this regard.

The only possible chink in the armor of gmail's Tasks feature is that it isn't (yet) integrated into gmail's mobile app, so it's a tad unwieldy when accessed from a mobile device. Here's what to do:

From your device's mobile browser, go to gmail.com/tasks. You can then view, add, edit, or mark tasks as completed from there rather than the gmail moble app.

If you're keeping track, that's now three things - email, calendar, tasks - Outlook does very well that Gmail does even better.

Zen and Gmail part 5 of 20

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 21:52:56 -0600

Tip 5: Add the Google Calendar.

The gmail account you've just created (or have had for a while) is a great start, but I just mentioned in my first post in this series that gmail could be considered Outlook 2009. And Outlook manages more than just your Inbox, right?

Of course. It manages tasks, contacts, and your time. In this step, you'll add google calendar functionality to gmail to track appointments, events, birthdays, and so on. It's remarkably easy to get started...

Because you already have a google account (created when you signed up for gmail), all you have to do is visit Google's Calendar homepage. From there, enter your Google Account email and password, and sign in. Easy cheesy.

You can probably take it from there. Among the really great features of the Google Calendar app is that it lets you create multiple calendars, and display each independent of the others if you wish. Have a project with several milestone dates? Make a calendar and share it with project stakeholders. Want to track all kids activities and share them with family? Again, create a seperate calendar.

And naturally, you can get easy access to all of those appointments and events from within the gmail browser interface. Here's how:

1. From gmail, click Settings in the upper right-hand corner, then click the Labs tab.
2. Now, look for the Calendar gadget (will be about 2/3 the way down the page or so) and enable it.
3. Click 'Save Changes' and you're done.

You can then make tweaks to the gmail calendar interface by accessing the gadget's Options, which you'll find in the lower right-had corner of the gadget.

Next up: adding your to-do lists without leaving gmail. Make sure and subscribe to get the latest content delivered each week without having to hunt it down..

Zen and Gmail part 4 of 20

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:18:35 -0600

Quit using folders to stay organized. Use labels instead.

If you've followed along in the first couple of gmail tips, you now have a new, centralized Inbox that you can access from just about anywhere. (And in a future tip, I'll show you how to access that gmail Inbox from just about any mobile device as well.

Here's how you're going to keep all that email organized: you're going to use labels.

You can manage gmail's labels by accessing the Labels tab in the Settings or, even easier, by clicking on the Labels button at the top of the Inbox and choosing 'Manage labels.'

Now, when an email comes in that needs to be filed for possible retrieval at a later date, use the Labels button to tag the email. Now, whenever you need to browse through your 'folder' of related emails, just click the desired label link on gmail's left-hand side.

(If you want to shortcut the application of labels even further, enable gmail's keyboard shortcuts by going to the General tab of gmail's Settings. Then, hit 'L' from any email and apply the label.)

And after you apply a label? Archive the email. Another of gmail's simplest, yet most powerful features is the ability to Archive that I discuss again in a future post or two. Gmail's golden rule: When in doubt, Archive.

And leave folders behind. They're soooo 2005.

Zen and Gmail part 3 of 20:

Mon, 9 Feb 2009 13:28:09 -0600

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.