Gmail Power Tips for Charter School Leaders

Your inbox: an endless source of joy and frustration. Here at CheckBox Pro, we're all about helping school leaders like you get a handle on their day. And guess where we usually start? That's right, your Gmail. We've got a lineup of five tips and tricks that we think every school administrator should have up their sleeve to make the most of their time.

Gmail Tasks

In the lively (chaotic?) environment of a charter school, staying organized is key, and Gmail Tasks is a fantastic tool for this. This feature allows you to transform emails into to-do items, ensuring that important tasks don’t get lost in the shuffle of a busy inbox. You can easily create a task from any email, assign a due date, and when you're ready to tackle it, the original email is just a click away for reference. This integration between your communications and your to-do list helps streamline your workflow, making sure nothing slips through the cracks.

Gmail Templates

School administrators often find themselves sending similar emails repeatedly, whether it's updates to staff, announcements to parents, or communications with vendors. Gmail Templates are a game-changer in this regard. By creating and using templates for frequently sent messages, you save a significant amount of time and ensure consistency in your communications. This feature allows you to focus on customizing the key parts of your message, while the standard information is pre-filled, ready to go.

Gmail Snooze Feature

The Snooze feature in Gmail is an under-appreciated gem, and just so happens to be our favorite feature at CheckBox Pro. If an email arrives that you can't address immediately, but don't want to forget about, simply snooze it to a later time or date. This temporarily removes the email from your inbox, reducing clutter, and then brings it back at a more convenient time. We also use this feature to follow up on emails at the perfect time without being overbearing or dropping the ball. Simply put, don’t snooze on the Snooze!

Gmail Schedule Send

For those who find their productivity peaks outside of the conventional 9-to-5 window, Gmail's Schedule Send feature is invaluable. It allows you to compose an email at any hour and then schedule it to be sent at a more appropriate time. This is particularly useful for charter school leaders who might work early in the morning or late at night but want to maintain regular communication hours with staff and parents. It’s also great for batching work - preparing several emails at once and scheduling them to go out across the week.

Gmail Marketing Filters

As a charter school leader, your inbox is likely inundated with promotional emails and offers from various vendors. Setting up Gmail Marketing Filters can help manage this influx. By creating filters, you can automatically tag, archive, or even delete emails from certain senders or with specific keywords. This not only keeps your primary inbox focused on more urgent and relevant correspondence but also allows you to review marketing emails at your convenience, ensuring you don’t miss out on potentially beneficial opportunities for your school.

Implement these five tips, and you’ll put hours back into your work week. And if you’re already a pro, share this resource with your leadership team to make the most of everyone’s time!