【Hannah Harper Archives】

Are Gmail and Hannah Harper ArchivesChrome your go-to tools?

If you responded with an enthusiastic “yes,” then I’m about to make your life a whole lot easier.

I’ve scrounged up some of the best Chrome extensions to make getting through email easier, faster, and even more fun!

Check ’em out:

1. Send an email later with Right Inbox

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Maybe you have your best ideas on a Sunday night but don’t want to bother your boss. Or, you need to send the same email every Friday to ask your teammates to file their expense reports.

Right Inbox lets you write those messages whenever you want and then schedule them to be sent later, so you can work ahead and save up time in your schedule.

2. Automate your follow-up with FollowUp.cc

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I don’t know you personally, but I know you don’t enjoy chasing down replies to emails—because nobody does.

So, why not let FollowUp.cc take care of this for you? You create an email to be sent if a recipient doesn’t reply by a certain time. Then, this extension takes care of the follow-up. And, as a bonus, it’ll show you if someone has read your messages.

3. Make plans quicker with Assistant.to

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Wouldn’t you love to stop the back-and-forth of trying to find a time to meet with someone

Assistant.to to the rescue! Just click the extension icon to choose the times you’re free to meet, and this app then puts them in an easy-to-read list for the recipient to choose from and automatically schedules the meeting in Google or Outlook Calendars.

4. Stay on task with ActiveInbox

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You’ve probably already realized that your inbox is great for getting email, but not so great for organizing your to-dos for the day.

With ActiveInbox, you can turn your emails into tasks (complete with due dates) without ever leaving your inbox. And ActiveInbox works on mobile, so you’ll keep on top of your assignments on-the-go.

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5. Get organized with Drag

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Inspired by the system Trello uses for organization, Drag transforms your inbox from an endless list of emails into three simple columns: “To-Do,” “Doing,” and “Done.”

This way, you easily see exactly which messages have been dealt with, which are in process, and which need to be handled so you can plan your workday as well as be motivated by what you’ve achieved.

6. Avoid your inbox altogether with Check Plus for Gmail

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When your goal is spending as little time as possible in your inbox, Check Plus for Gmail helps you achieve that.

It sits quietly in your menu bar waiting to show subtle and customizable email notifications right in your browser, so you can read, reply, and delete messages straight from the extension without ever having to open your inbox.

7. Sound more authoritative with Just Not Sorry

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I’m definitely guilty of trying to soften my messages with kinder, less authoritative words. But Just Not Sorry is curing me of that.

The idea for this extension is based on female leadership expert Tara Mohr’s article, “Eight Ways Women Undermine Themselves With Their Words.” All you do is write your email, and it underlines any undermining phrases for you to delete or replace with a more confident word.

8. Speak your messages with Email Dictation

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When you’re tired of typing or your hands are busy (a.k.a., when you’re driving to the office), give Email Dictation a try. Click its microphone icon in your Gmail inbox, and say what you want in your email. The extension turns your spoken words into written text in 32 different languages.

9. Upload videos fast with Clipchamp

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If you need more than words to get your message across, Clipchamp records videos directly in Gmail, compresses them for quick upload, and sends them in the email itself. It’s an easy and unique way to explain a complicated process to your colleague in a different time zone, or add a personal touch to a message to your client.

10. Take advantage of keyboard shortcuts with KeyRocket for Gmail

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You’ve got Command-C and Command-V down for fast copy and paste action. But are you taking advantage of keyboard shortcuts in Gmail

KeyRocket for Gmail recommends shortcuts while you’re in your inbox to train you to use them more frequently and become a computer wizard.

11. Customize your background with Stylish

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After staring at your same old inbox day after day, a new look might be just what you need to inspire some serious productivity.

Stylish is a huge library of user-created designs for all kinds of websites, including Gmail. With hundreds of options to choose from, there’s sure to be one to make email at least a little nicer to look at.

12. Have some fun with The Email Game

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Instead of letting your inbox get you down, turn it into a good time.

The Email Game has you race against both the clock and the number of emails left in your inbox. It’s basic, bu, if you’ve got the soul of a gamer, it could be just the motivation you need to power through your messages.

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It’s time to stop avoiding your inbox. These extensions make it manageable and motivating to dig into your emails—and who knows, maybe you’ll even reach that mythical inbox zero you’ve been dreaming of.

And, on the slight chance, these don’t do the trick for you, check out these email gamechangers.

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