1.
V1.0
BECOMING AN EMAIL NINJA
— Reach Inbox Zero Daily —

2.
Gmail’s GTD setup in 5 minutes
5 free email ninja add-ons
10 email ninja best practices
What you’ll learn

3.
43 Folders Series: Inbox Zero
Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Workweek
Zen Habits
Gmail's 15 min GTD setup
Sources

4.
StartupGeist.com
By Danny Holtschke
Startup, Zen & Productivity Freak
Bases: Berlin | Bali | Berkeley

5.
V1.0
GMAIL'S 15 MIN GTD SETUP
— Overview —

6.
That’s how your inbox will look like

7.
That’s how your inbox will look like
Using GTD - Getting things done
Zero plugins using only standard features
An easy to manage, usually empty inbox

8.
That’s how your inbox will look like
1. Box: All “To Do”
2. Box: All “Answer expected” emails
3. Box: All “Delegated” emails
4. Box: All “Reminders” (meetings, flights)

9.
GMAIL'S 5 MIN GTD SETUP
— Step by step guide —

10.
CLICK IMAGE TO
WATCH VIDEO
IMAG

11.
1
1. Go to Settings*
2. Go to Labs
3. Enable Multiple Inboxes
Enable multiple inboxes
Under cogs icon
on the top right

12.
2
1. Go to Settings > General
2. Scroll down to Stars
3. Add stars (see next slide)
Define stars

13.
3
1. Go to Settings > Multiple Inboxes
2. Add four star filter rules*
Define star filter rules
*Instead of ‘star filters’ you
can also use labels. I
prefer stars. It’s quicker.

14.
1. has:yellow-bang OR
has:red-bang
2. has:purple-question
3. has:orange-guillemet
4. has:blue-info
=> Action required
duds
=> Answer expected
=> Delegated
=> Reminders
Copy/paste filter rules

15.
1. has:red-star
2. has:orange-star
3. has:green-star
4. has:blue-star
5. has:purple-star
6. has:red-bang
7. has:orange-guillemet
8. has:yellow-bang
9. has:green-check
10. has:blue-info
11. has:purple-question
List of all names of the stars*
*Feel free to use other icons if
they better match your taste

16.
No … you should. Get it now.
I recommend to use the normal yellow star for todo.
That way you can mark todos in mobile. Unfortunately,
the other stars won’t work.
Using mobile Gmail App?

17.
4
1. Go to Settings > Inbox
2. Switch to “default”
3. Choose “primary” only (no other tabs)
4. Choose “no markers”
5. Choose “don’t override filters”
Use ‘default’ inbox layout*
*See next slide
for screenflow

18.
*
No tabs for ‘social’ or ‘promotions’ needed.
Use labels and automatic filtering instead.

19.
5
1. Now reload
Well done!

20.
GETTING TO & KEEPING
INBOX ZERO

21.
1
Full inbox?
1. Go through the latest 100 emails.
2. Mark emails with stars and archive*.
3. Use 30 min daily to empty ‘star folder’.
Getting started: Inbox Zero
*Archiving an email will remove
emails from. Assign stars and labels.

22.
2
More than 100 emails? Archive all!!! … or
1. Create a temporary folder (aka label).
2. Move* all emails there.
3. Follow step #1.
Getting started: Inbox Zero
*To move emails, assign label to
emails and archive them.

23.
3 Keeping Inbox Zero
Don’t leave open emails in your inbox.
Always delete, archive, answer, delegate.
Source

24.
3 Keeping Inbox Zero
Work your way from top to bottom
One at a time
Process: either delete, archive (& label/star),
answer (requiring <2 min) or delegate
Use powerful shortcuts* **Use KeyRocket add-on
to learn shortcuts

25.
4 Filtering*: Keep, but don’t read
Example: Monthly recurring invoices
1. Create a label ‘invoices’
2. Create filters to automatically archive
and label emails. Mark them ‘read’.
Applies to any form of email that
you want keep, but don’t read.

26.
5 My favorite Shortcuts*
1. g then i = Go to Inbox
2. g then s = Starred emails
3. g then t = Go to sent
4. g then d = Drafts
5. g then c = Contacts
6. g then l = Select label
7. e = archive
8. # = delete
9. r = reply
10. s = star
11. x = select
12. z = undo last action
Activate shortcuts: Setting > General
Press ? to see a list of shortcuts.

27.
BONUS: 5 FREE EMAIL NINJA
ADD-ONS

28.
1
Unroll.Me
To get less emails, unsubscribe newsletters
and combine favorites into one email.
Link to app

29.
2
HubSpot Sales*
See everything about your
contacts, right inside your inbox.
Syncs with Hubspot’s free CRM.
*Alternatives: Rapportive or FullContact
Link to app

30.
3
Streak
Track opened emails and clicks.
Set reminders by ‘snoozing’ emails.
Use snippets* to quickly respond to emails
Use shortcuts to quickly snippet.
Link to app

31.
4
KeyRocket
Good way to learn keyboard
shortcuts while you work in Gmail.
Link to app

32.
5
Mail Timer
Keeps you focused
while you work in Gmail.
Link to app

33.
BONUS: 10 EMAIL NINJA
BEST PRACTICES

34.
ACTIONSSSS
Do NOT ever check emails.
Always DO* EMAILS.
1

35.
HOW
Use Gmail offline.
2

36.
WHEN
Do NOT email first thing
in the morning or last thing at night.
3

37.
BATCH
Only work on emails twice daily.
4

38.
TURN OFF
ALL NOTIFCATIONS
on PC, tablet or phone.
5

39.
WRITE LESS
Use short but powerful replies.
Limit yourself to 5 sentences.
6

40.
DON’T RESPOND
IMMEDIATELY. ASK
When can I get back to you?
OR Do you still need this?
7
Remember: Emails are other people’s task.
Waiting to respond often resolves issues.

41.
UNDO SEND
Forget an attachment.
Enable undo send.
8

42.
DASHBOARD
Merge several email accounts into
one. Label incoming emails.
9
Have three inboxes:
personal; biz; spam

43.
CYCLE THROUGH
Choose auto-advance to cycle
through emails, instead of going
back to inbox
10

44.
CONGRATZ :)
You’ve officially
become an EMAIL NINJA!
V1.0