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How to Sort Your Emails Automatically in Gmail

Keeping your Gmail inbox organized can be a challenge, especially if you receive a lot of emails for work or personal use. Fortunately, Gmail provides some powerful tools to automatically sort and filter your incoming emails, saving you time and helping you stay on top of what’s important.

Use Labels

Labels in Gmail work similarly to folders, allowing you to categorize your emails. However, you can apply multiple labels to a single email. For example, you could apply both a “Work” and “Important” label.

To create a new label:

  1. Click the gear icon > Settings
  2. Select the Labels tab
  3. Click “Create new label” and give it a name
  4. Click “Create”

Once your labels are set up, open an email, click the label icon, and select which labels you want to apply.

Create Filters

Filters are rules that allow Gmail to automatically label, archive, delete or forward emails based on criteria you specify.

To create a filter:

  1. Click the down arrow next to the search bar
  2. Enter search criteria such as sender email, subject keywords, etc
  3. Click “Create filter” at the bottom
  4. Choose what you want the filter to do with matching emails
  5. Click “Create filter” to save

For example, you could set up a filter so emails from your boss are automatically labeled as “Important.”

Use Multiple Inboxes

Enable Multiple Inboxes under Settings > Configure Inbox. This allows you to create custom tabs in your inbox for different types of emails.

For example, you could have tabs for:

  • Important emails
  • Project updates
  • Newsletters

Emails will automatically be sorted into the appropriate tabs based on filters and labels.

Archive Old Messages

Archiving moves emails out of your inbox while still keeping them accessible. Just click “All Mail” in the left sidebar.

To auto-archive older messages:

  1. Click the gear icon
  2. Under General, enable “Auto-advance”
  3. Choose the age of emails to archive

This will help prevent your inbox from getting overloaded.

Use Advanced Search Operators

Gmail has advanced search operators that allow you to refine results based on specific criteria. Some examples:

  • from:(name) – Sender’s name
  • subject:(keyword) – Subject line keywords
  • after:mm/dd/yyyy – Sent after a date
  • has:attachment – Has an attachment

After searching, click “Create filter” at the bottom to turn it into an automatic filter.

Set Up Send & Archive

The “Send & archive” option allows you to reply to an email and automatically archive it in one click.

To enable:

  1. Click Settings > General
  2. Scroll down and enable “Send and Archive”

Now when you reply, you’ll have the option to send & archive.

By leveraging Gmail’s tools for automatic sorting, filtering, archiving and more, you can transform your inbox from messy to organized with minimal effort. Consistently applying labels and filters is key to ongoing gmail organization.

Conclusion

  • Use labels to categorize emails for easy sorting
  • Create filters to automatically label, archive or forward incoming mail
  • Enable multiple inboxes to separate emails by type or project
  • Archive older emails automatically to reduce inbox clutter
  • Use advanced search operators to refine results and create filters
  • Enable “Send & archive” to remove replied emails from the inbox

Keeping your inbox organized takes some work up front, but ultimately saves you time by removing manual sorting and allowing you to quickly focus on the most important emails.

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