How to turn Gmail into the best To-Do list ever

Email has changed a lot during these last years. Not just the way it looks but also its effectiveness as a business tool has also changed drastically.

Email is now turning 48 and with almost half a century on its back,  it’s pretty far away from its original purpose. Back in the day, it was just a tool to communicate, period.

Right now, email has significantly expanded into an intuitive and more collaborative tool. However, the widespread use of email over the last years has generated new email ways for the modern email user and these ways have their own set of new challenges.

Gmail vs To-Do list

In addition to emails, there is another element present in the business world which is also very important in order to keep things organized. We’re talking about to-do lists. To some extent, you can make a great comparison between your Gmail inbox and a to-do list.

Think about it, a to-do list is a list of tasks, right? Now, how you would describe your corporate inbox? Maybe like the place where you receive tasks and to-dos but in the form of emails. The dynamic is the same between these two.

So, if there’s indeed a connection between your email inbox and the way a to-do list works, why not start managing your inbox as a to-do list to make it more organized?

Why you should turn Gmail into a To-Do list

It’s not difficult at all, however,  this is something that companies have tried unsuccessfully in the past. Why? Because they keep using additional technologies and that just won’t cut it. It only makes it more complicated and time-consuming.

There’s a huge potential of solutions if you start looking – and handling – your inbox just as if it were a to-do list. Next, you’ll find our list of the things you won’t have to do again if you decide to transition your email inbox into a to-do list.

1. Stop sending emails to yourself

A lot of people often email themselves when they need a reminder. It usually happens when people handle big inboxes at work, so when they’re home, they email themselves reminders so they can see it first thing in the morning.

It’s a highly common practice in today’s business world. Like a virtual post-it to help you out. Evidently, every time we do this, we’re using our inbox as a to-do list.

This is something that happens more often than expected. People do nonsense stuff like forwarding emails to external apps or for themselves as an attempt to keep track of things. Sadly, no matter how accustomed we are to do it, we shouldn’t do it. It is a highly impractical thing to do and it ends up consuming a substantial amount of time.

The worst part is that when companies attempt to find a solution to replace this practice, they end up using additional tools to fix something that is right in front of them. Yes, this one of the many issues you can overcome only by giving your inbox the right twist.

Why don’t you add your tasks directly into your inbox? 

2. No more switching between your inbox and multiple apps

Nobody’s arguing the fact that a large number of business apps and business software work great for a certain profile of companies. I mean, just look at the market, you’ll find a gazillion options out there and they usually deliver. 

This is no surprise, as they were built to complete a particular task or to provide certain results. The problem is that they were built to address only one task. This means that it will be good but only in your workstation and luckily sometimes for the rest of the team.

But what happens when you need to apply that certain tool outside your organization? You guessed it! You’ll be stuck in that spiral of switching between to-do apps, Gmail inbox, and any other business tool you use.

You can’t imagine how many individuals, and most importantly, companies have gone through the years believing that this is the right way of doing things. Fortunately, here at Drag, we know that this isn’t true. Things can be different regarding your email issues. This process can be simpler.

How to turn Gmail into a To-Do list in 1 click

Ok, so we all know that a large chunk of all business tasks arrives as emails. We’ve perfectioned the usually manage your email and we’ve reduced the need for additional apps or software.

This approach is known as Kanban and it delivers an entirely different layout for your inbox. Its like Trello but without never having to leave your Gmail interface, the one you’re so familiar with. No more unnecessary costs on business tools or incomprehensive software.

Kanban changes the way you visualize your inbox because it turns the emails you send and receive into cards. Times have changed and you no longer need external tools to properly handle your business’s email. You can manage your tasks and to-do lists without wasting time using third-party software.

Your best solution is only one click away 🙂

TURN GMAIL INTO A TO-DO LIST NOW

Drag’s purpose is to centralize your work in one single place, so your productivity will be concentrated and you won’t have to switch between tools multiple times.

Switching not only makes your work take longer, but it also requires that team members have to learn new tools and it opens space to many miscommunication issues. Not to mention the time you’ll have to set aside to provide training.

Seriously, how many times have you tried to understand — or help someone else understand —a new tool at work? This happens more often than you think.

We believe the solution is a seamlessly designed interface that works continuously with your email, just adding new and crucial functionalities (CRM, Help Desk).

Manage more than just To-Dos from Gmail

When it comes to managing tasks, Drag can also perfectly fit other workflows such as sales pipeline or Help Desk. Instead of tasks, cards can represent leads or customers’ inquiries or anything else. Examples of what you can manage from kanban boards are:

• Keep track of customer conversations
• Have your own CRM tool: Create and manage pipelines from one single place.
• No more converting emails into tickets

This is what Drag Chrome Extension does: 

• Emails (or standalone task) become cards for a better and enhance visualization
• Add extra information to emails such as notes, checklists, and due dates
• Drag’n’ drop your To Dos, so you know in which stage everything is
• Add and customize as many columns as you want
• Sort & filter your cards, so it’s easy to find what is important
• Collaborate with your team: Share, delegate, get things done together
• Use multiple boards, so different projects don’t get mixed up together

Conclusion

Your email inbox contains everything you need to manage your business to-do list. Once you try Drag and understand how does it feel to have an email client that makes you save time and money, you’ll see that there’s no turning back.

Even after reaching that point, there’s so much more to explore and discover. By making email as simple as possible you will not only make your work less stressful but also increase the productivity and communication of your whole team.

As you can see, there’s nothing hard about turning your inbox into your virtual to-do list and so much more. Both emails and tasks become cards, so you’re in just one place, able to do a lot more to manage emails, like manage projects, CRM, Help Desk, or whatever you want.