Travel Technology - For you Gmail Users - Organization

I have been a Gmail user since it came out. Today I decided that I needed to rethink my "Labels" structure. Since there are not "sub-labels", I have started grouping together everything instead of splitting it all out in its own label.

Ex: instead of a label for each airline account, I have one called "Air Travel", and it holds everything, my check-in stuff, my reservations, my receipts, etc.

So, how do you organize your Gmail?

I guess this can be applied to other e-mail as well. Maybe I should try it in my Outlook as well. Instead of having a breakdown of clients and their projects, maybe I should just have a folder for each client or maybe just a "Clients" folder...

Ex: instead of a label for each airline account, I have one called "Air Travel", and it holds everything, my check-in stuff, my reservations, my receipts, etc.

I use yahoo for my storage site, and have separate folders for each month (i.e. AA Jan, AA Feb). I also do the same with priceline bookings (PL Jan, PL Feb). Works out really well, and I can delete all the material in the folder a few weeks after the dates have come and gone and I have no further use for the contents.

Organize? :confused:

:)

I do three levels in Outlook, Gmail is rarely used, so it's not as grouped, does have some labels.

For trips for example, I'll have (Outlook) a folder under the inbox for Trips, and under that will be all upcoming trips, each in their own folder, with the airline stuff, rental, hotels, parking all that junk in that folder.

Once a trip is over, the entire folder gets dragged to the past trips folder, so in trips there is only upcoming stuff.

Some of the newsletters I get use rules to get into their own folders on their own, some of that stuff sits there until I'm bored out of my mind on a plane :D

Organize Gmail? Why?

Anything that's active I leave on the main page. If I need to find something that I've archived I do so with the search capability. It's never failed to find what I want without difficulty.

That's exactly my approach. Google is about search, not hierarchical labels.

I have a very few labels that get auto-applied based on recipient, but that's it.

Agree with the last two posters. Given the amazing search facility built in, and all the advanced search functions (e.g; in:anywhere from:david has:attachment) , Gmail is the one mail client where i have never needed to organise it. I actually forward all of my corporate mail to a Gmail account as i not only never need to delete anything, but i can find old mails a damn sight quicker than i can in Outlook.

So, how do you organize your Gmail?


I started to organize using labels a long time ago, but realized that searching email is just as good, so I don't bother anymore. If it's one thing gmail excels at, it's the ability to search through all your email.

-David

I guess I should explain how I use Gmail then...

I filter five e-mail accounts through it and pick them up on the other side. I do this for spam and archiving purposes. As I archive I want to make sure that things are easy to find (even when searching).

Hierarchical labels are not what I had in mind.

Granted, my Gmail account is now hovering at 2.4GB

That's exactly my approach. Google is about search, not hierarchical labels.

I have a very few labels that get auto-applied based on recipient, but that's it.

Dittto here - I love it.

The only thing I do for emails that are important and I know I'll want to go back to is star them, the rest of the time I just search, usually by the name of the sender

I never used folders with Eudora except the minimal in, out, trash and spam and that's exactly what I do now with gmail.
I am very satisfied with gmail especially since installing an s/mime plugin for Firefox so I could see the body of messages from some people.

No labels or stars for me, Just search for what I want.