Written by No matter what line of work we’re in, chances are we’d have to carve out a good amount of time in front of the computer. In particular, we’re talking about emails. When we’re dealing with many colleagues and even more clients, things will be overwhelming. It’s a feat in itself to keep track of who to reach out to, who to reply to, and who to CC every single day.
To ensure we can maximise our output and not spill unnecessary brain juice managing our work, here are the 9 best Gmail plugins that you can add to your 9-to-6 arsenal so you and your colleagues can become much more productive at work.
1. Gmelius – Sort emails into Kanban-like boards
Image credit: @gmelius
For those that aren’t familiar with Kanban, think of it as a visual spreadsheet where you can separate tasks according to its category, importance or where it lies in the WIP scale.
This is very practical, for sure, so you can imagine how much more free you’ll be when Gmelius takes full control in sieving out your mountain of emails through its Kanban board-like interface.
Better still, it also gives you a heads-up on what your colleagues are up to, which helps automate your team’s workflow, especially if your company works remotely. You can even sync the app with other commonly used platforms like Slack, Trello and Zoom.
Where to get: Google Chrome
Price: $24/month (Growth) | Free for 7 days
Download Gmelius.
2. Boomerang – AI assisted emails & follow-ups
Image adapted from: @boomerang
Crafting the perfect reply email to a client can take a while, and doing it many times in a day will surely throw many precious hours down the drain. Let Boomerang do that for you – with their AI assisted emails, they can help you generate replies that are polite and personable, with just the right amount of niceties that’s beyond your usual cursory template draft.
That aside, Boomerang can also help schedule emails for you, as well as track which ones require a follow-up This makes it the ideal platform, particularly for PR and project managers who do lots of cold calling.
Where to get: Google Chrome
Price: $14.98/month (Pro) | Free for 30 days
Download Boomerang.
3. Slack for Gmail – Integrates between 2 platforms
Image credit: Slack
Known as a “digital HQ”, Slack is the go-to platform for all things management and communication. One hassle it has, though, it’s that it isn’t connected to your email, making it troublesome to toggle between both platforms.
Image credit: Slack
That’s where Slack for Gmail comes in: a newer rendition where the 2 platforms come together to iron out its previous kinks. With Slack right beside your inbox, you can easily drag emails into your channels or DMs, where you can coordinate your colleagues’ responses before crafting a reply.
Where to get: G-Suite Marketplace
Price: Free
Download Slack for Gmail.
4. Checker Plus – View multiple work addresses at once
Image credit: Microsoft Edge
As the busy folks we are, we’re all ears on how to do things faster, and clearing our emails in one shot on Checker Plus can be one of them. Without needing to switch between accounts, you can check our personal and work accounts simultaneously with all the usual functions still intact.
Where to get: Google Chrome
Price: Free
Download Checker Plus.
5. Dropbox for Gmail – Cloud-based sharing with company
Image credit: Dropbox
One of the most commonly used cloud services in the mainstream, Dropbox lets you organise and share all documents, slides and media within your company. With Dropbox for Gmail, you gain enhanced functionality as you can easily share and save documents with your colleagues without leaving the platform.
Where to get: G Suite Marketplace
Price: $9.99/month (Plus)
Download Dropbox for Gmail.
6. Clearbit Connect – See mini “Linkedin” profile from sender
While it’s a staple in the internet age, Gmail falls short in one aspect: unlike most social media platforms, it doesn’t have a search bar where you can type names of workers or companies and auto-suggestions will appear.
Strangely enough, unless they’re within the same company, we’d have to resort to typing their whole email address. Not only could you be living your deepest fear a.k.a. sending emails to the wrong person, it greatly reduces the number of people you can reach out to.
Image credit: Clearbit Connect
Enter Clearbit Connect. This extension is any B2B marketer’s key to networking with the greater industry, where you can simply search for companies and find people you can contact.
Image credit: Clearbit Connect
You can also search for individual names, and view their mini “Linkedin”-esque profile where you can find out their job title, location, business details and, of course, their email.
Where to get: Google Chrome
Price: Custom quotation | 100 free lookups/month
Download Clearbit Connect.
7. Mailtrack – Track if and when your email has been opened
Image credit: Google Workspace Marketplace
It’s hard to decide what’s worse: getting your message “blue ticked”, or simply getting daoed and ignored. Whichever the case is, Mailtrack can give you the answer since it’s not available on Gmail by default.
Plus, you get real-time notifications whenever your email has been opened even past the first time. This is ideal for those working in sales who can get a better gauge of the deals that’ll be successful, as well as those job-hunting who can see if recruiters have noticed them.
Where to get: Google Chrome
Price: $5.99/month (Advanced)
Download Mailtrack.
8. Inbox When Ready – Hides other emails to avoid distractions
Image credit: Inbox When Ready
Simply put, it’s easy to get distracted when we’ve got many emails on our plate, and it’s even more stressful when there are more that just keep rolling in. While its services seem rather niche, Inbox When Ready bites the bullet killing our distractions.
By locking your inbox for a set period of time, you’ll not be able to see your other emails, and won’t be notified when new ones come in. You can even schedule lockdowns within the day, and know how many times you’ve viewed your inbox.
Not only does this allow you to have laser focus on urgent emails at hand, it allows you to take breaks and not linger on the screen for too long.
Where to get: Google Chrome
Price: $4/month | Free for 14 days
Download Inbox When Ready.
9. Todoist – Peg emails with to-do lists
Image credit: Todoist
There are many platforms on which you can write your to-do lists, but they don’t quite offer what Todoist has. Besides updating your to-do lists while viewing emails, you can tag the respective email to each task. This all comes with due dates, reminders, and priority levels to prevent you from overlooking any task.
Where to get: Google Chrome
Price: ~$5.60/month
Download Todoist.
Best Gmail plugins to increase productivity at work
The state of your desk mirrors the state of your mind, and the same applies to your inbox. While the world of emailing has done wonders for us, the software itself may not come with the right features that’ll help us organise our work.
That’s why we should take it upon ourselves to shop for ways to upgrade. Thankfully, these 9 Gmail plugins have already proven themselves handy; by trusting them with all the nitty gritty and tedious organisation tasks, we’ve much more time on our hands to focus on our actual roles and can, perhaps, even add “Gmail experts” to our resumes.
More hacks to know for work:
- Epic out-of-office email templates
- Converting your internship to full-time
- Mental health courses for companies
Cover image adapted from: Unsplash
