If you want to greatly improve your speed in using Gmail, make sure to learn a few of these helpful keyboard shortcuts. They can save you a huge amount of time and greatly reduce the number of keystrokes and mouse clicks you need to make to perform some of the key functions in Gmail.

Because there are so many different areas of Gmail (Email, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, etc.), I am going to just focus this post on shortcuts that are critical to speed your Inbox processing and triage.

(Note: If you are an Outlook User, make sure to look at my other post that lists some of the most helpful Outlook Keyboard Shortcuts).

The list below is not the full list of ALL the available shortcuts, but are some of the ones that are most commonly used for routine Email processing:

But First, make sure to ENABLE Keyboard Shortcuts in Gmail:

To use Gmail shortcuts, you must first enable them in the Settings menu.

1. Select the “Gear” icon in the upper-right corner of Gmail and then select “Settings”.

2. Scroll down to the “Keyboard shortcuts” section and ensure that you select “Keyboard shortcuts” to “On”.

3. Make sure to remember to scroll to the bottom of the page and select “Save Changes”.

(NOTE: On Mac computers, use the Command key (“⌘”) instead of the "Ctrl” Key )

Simplify Composing/Forwarding/Replying/Sending:

Use these quick “shortcuts” instead of having to use your mouse for performing very common Email composition and response actions.

Add Text Formatting Elements while Composing and Email:

Use these simple comments to add formatting elements while composing or replying to Emails.  You can repeat these actions if you want to “undo” the formatting.

Perform Email Maintenance and Other Actions:

These shortcuts will help you to quickly maintain your Gmail Inbox.

Navigate within the Gmail System:

These shortcuts will help you to move around to different places within the Gmail system. However, these keys must be pressed separately (one after another) instead of “together” like the shortcut keys listed above.

Do you use any Gmail Shortcuts?

Which ones do you find the most helpful?

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