Did you know e-mails can be scheduled ahead of time like blog posts? Do you have a need to schedule e-mails? Do you ever create e-mail drafts and then send the e-mails when you need to? I’ve tried the drafts technique, but the busier I get, the easier it is to lose track of when an e-mail needs to go out.
Scheduling and forgetting is a great option.
There are some e-mail programs that allow scheduling, such as Microsoft Outlook, but if you have Gmail, scheduling isn’t an option…without a plug-in. And I recently found one with everyone’s favorite price tag –> $0.
It’s called Boomerang for Gmail. It’s compatible with Firefox 3.6+, Chrome 5.0+ and Safari 5.1+ and it works with Gmail and Google Apps e-mail.
In addition to scheduling, you can also set up automatic reminders on any e-mails. For instance, I schedule a lot of author interviews for my Reviews and Interviews blog and I ask that interviews be to me at least 7 days before the scheduled date. With the scheduling option, I can have the confirmation e-mail returned to me if the person doesn’t reply to the e-mail by the date I specify.
This definitely saves me time. I don’t have to:
- check my calendar
- determine which person I haven’t heard from
- search for the last e-mail I sent to them
- and then forward that e-mail asking the person to reply.
With scheduler, if the recipient doesn’t reply by the date I specify (for myself, which is called ‘boomerang this message‘), I’ll have my last note to them pop up as a new message that I can then easily forward again. Definite time saver! This is great to use for any e-mail that you need a reply to by a specific date.
Do you and your friends say, “We should schedule lunch some time?” Now you can say, “Pick a date. If I don’t hear from you by next Thursday, I’ll get back in touch.” User ‘boomerang this message’ and get that lunch scheduled!
A bonus I found with this plug-in is that if you have multiple Gmail accounts, you only have to install the plug-in to one of them. I did one simple and quick install, and all my accounts now have the scheduler.
In related news, I saw an article yesterday about Google Chrome passing Internet Explorer as the most popular Web browser. I’ve been using Chrome for less than a year and am just starting to get used to it. What browser do you favor?
Do you see any benefit to scheduling e-mails?
Lisa J. Jackson is an independent editor and writer who is still striving to find the perfect combination of technology that makes her life most efficient. She’s also a New England region journalist and a year-round chocolate and iced coffee lover. She writes fiction as Lisa Haselton, has an award-winning blog for book reviews and author interviews, and is on the staff of The Writer’s Chatroom.
I love this idea! From billing my clients on the first of the month to prescheduling meeting reminders, this is going to be a great asset for me!
Those are excellent ways to use the tool that I hadn’t considered yet. Thanks for sharing!
I love the articles with technology recomendations. I’ll be trying boomerang as soon as today. Thanks!
For browsers I tried Internet Explorer and Firefox before and Im keeping Chrome!
Glad you found this useful, Marlyn. I’ve always used IE – I tried Firefox but it just didn’t work for me, and I’ve been using Chrome for a while only because I hear it’s more secure than IE. I still use IE at times, though. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Great idea! On my list of to-do’s! I also love the boomerang advantage!
I hope it works for you, Laura. Glad to have you stop by and comment.
I hadn’t heard of that one before. I mostly use firefox but that is more out of habit and I am too lazy to change. IE has never been a good choice for a browser. I was disappointed in the early versions of chrome but the last few release of chrome has really made that a very useful tool. At the same time Firefox’s last couple of upgrades haven’t helped the product and I am now seriously considering doing the work to move to chrome.
Andrew, I think you hit on part of my hesitancy to move off IE – it takes work! I’ve been using IE since forever and I know how to easily navigate. Chrome is more secure, but I’m not finding it as intuitive as I’d like. It takes me more time to do a lot of things. Time is in short supply, isn’t it?
Thanks for stopping by.
I am also told that posts can be pre-scheduled in wordpress! Time management is always on an uphill learning curve with me! Thanks for this helpful post, Lisa!
Granbee, oh, yes, I *love* scheduling blog posts. It takes the pressure off knowing something is queued up ahead of time.
You’re very welcome. I’m glad you’re finding helpful tips and tricks here!
I didn’t know Gmail has that feature, but it sounds really cool and I cant’ wait to try it out
I also use Chrome, and have been for around 2 years. I love the browser, although I just can’t get used to the Chromebooks – something about all of my personal files being stored on Google’s servers bugs me.
Thanks, Original. I’ve never heard of Chromebooks, but can relate to storing personal files in cyberspace – it makes me twitchy. Great to have you as a reader.
Really useful, thanks!
Nice find! Thanks for sharing
Reblogged this on Shortcut Girl and commented:
Here’s a shortcut I haven’t even considered. I wil be posting about Iphone and Google shortcuts that are pretty time saving soon though!
Thank you for this!! Back in the dark ages, I scheduled emails using Eudora. This was particularly helpful when I managed and email list (like I said, dark ages). I’ve desperately missed that feature in Gmail. Going to download now!! I’m a chrome user. As a Mac user, I’ve never been on good terms with IE and safari is good, but I’m so married to Google, Gmail and Apps, Chrome is just easier for me.
Yes! Every time I have to send out a professional email, I always remember in the middle of the night and wish that I could schedule it. Thanks for the info!
Also, I’ve been using Chrome for about a year now. I love it more than Firefox. IE is never my thing.
I JUST downloaded this, and I’ll second how helpful it is.
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Thanx
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