Productivité
Steps to Organize Gmail Inbox Using Folders
10 mars 2025
Did you know that every minute, 240 million emails are exchanged among global users? If your Gmail inbox is constantly overflowing with unread emails and important messages buried under countless others, it’s time to take charge.
Learning how to organize your gmail inbox into folders can transform how you manage your emails, boosting productivity and reducing stress.
Let’s dive into a step-by-step guide to declutter and streamline your inbox using folders.
What Are Gmail Folders?
In Gmail, folders are synonymous with labels. Unlike traditional email folders, Gmail’s labels allow you to categorize emails without moving them from your inbox. This flexible system means an email can have multiple labels, making organization seamless.
Importance of Labels
Enhanced Email Management: Labels allow you to categorize your emails into distinct groups, making it easy to view and access messages by topic or urgency. With organized labels, you can quickly identify and prioritize key emails without sifting through your entire inbox.
Improved Productivity: By reducing the time spent searching for specific emails, labels help you focus on what's important. Instead of manually scrolling through your inbox, you can instantly access labeled categories, enabling quicker responses and more efficient work.
Customized Organization: Labels are fully customizable to suit both personal and professional needs. Create labels for specific projects, departments, or categories, like "Work," "Finance," or "Travel." This tailored organization keeps your inbox aligned with your priorities and work flow, ensuring you stay on top of tasks.
Tricks to Organize Your Gmail Inbox Using Folders
Organizing your Gmail inbox into folders can streamline your email management and improve productivity. Here’s how you can efficiently organize your inbox using folders for a more structured and organized workflow.
Creating Folders in Gmail
Setting up folders (labels) in Gmail is simple and works across devices. Follow these steps to create labels on different platforms:
On Desktop:
Open Gmail in your web browser.
Scroll down the left sidebar and click “More.”
Select “Create new label.”
Enter a label name (e.g., "Invoices").
Click “Create”.
On iPhone (Gmail App):
Open the Gmail app.
Tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top-left corner.
Scroll and select “Settings”.
Tap “Labels” > “Create new.”
Enter your desired label name and save.
Using Settings (Desktop):
Click the settings gear icon (top-right corner) and select “See all settings.”
Navigate to the Labels tab.
Scroll down and click “Create new label”.
Name your label and hit Create.
Creating Subfolders in Gmail
Gmail’s hierarchical labeling system allows you to create subfolders (sub-labels) for deeper organization.
Steps to Create Subfolders:
Select a Parent Label:
Click on the three dots to the right of an existing label in the left sidebar and choose Add Sublabel.
Add Sub-label Under "More":
Scroll down, click More, and choose “Create new label”.
Under "Nest label under," select the parent label.
Convert Folder to Subfolder:
Go to Settings > Labels, and edit an existing label to "nest" it under a parent label.
By organizing with subfolders, you can keep related emails grouped together. For example, "Work > Projects" or "Personal > Bills."
Organizing Emails Into Folders with Labels
After creating labels, it’s time to start organizing your inbox. Here are three ways to label your emails:
Manually Moving Emails:
Select one or more emails.
Click the “Move to” icon (folder symbol) and choose the desired label.
Labeling Emails:
Highlight emails, click the “Label” icon, and select the label(s) you want to assign.
Emails remain in the inbox but are tagged for easy filtering.
Labeling via Compose Window:
While drafting an email, click the three dots in the bottom right.
Select “Label,” choose a label, and send.
Organizing emails manually ensures immediate control over your inbox. Use labels consistently for the best results.
Automatic Labeling with Filters
Gmail’s filters automate the labeling process, saving you time and effort.
Creating Filters:
Click the settings gear icon and choose “See all settings.”
Go to the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab.
Click “Create a new filter.”
Define criteria (e.g., sender, subject, keywords) and click Create filter.
Filter & Label:
In the filter creation window, check “Apply the label.”
Select the label to auto-tag matching emails.
Filters streamline your email management by automatically categorizing incoming messages. For example, tag all newsletters under "Subscriptions."
Automatic labeling is even easier with NewMail which allows you to define custom categories and your email assistant sorts your emails as per your instructions.
Managing & Customizing Folders Using Labels
Gmail’s labels are highly customizable, allowing you to adapt your organization system. Managing labels proactively allows you to keep your system efficient and easy to navigate.
Editing Labels:
Hover over a label in the sidebar and click the three dots.
Choose Edit to rename or change settings.
Deleting Labels:
In the same menu, select Remove label.
Deleting a label won’t delete the emails; they’ll remain in your inbox.
Assigning Colors:
Use color-coding for visual clarity.
Right-click a label, select Label color, and pick your preferred shade.
Hiding & Displaying Folders
Hiding and displaying labels gives you control over your Gmail interface, ensuring your inbox stays organized and distraction-free. If you have too many labels, hiding less-used ones can declutter your sidebar while keeping important folders accessible.
Hiding Folders:
In the left sidebar, click Manage labels.
Set specific labels to Hide to minimize sidebar clutter.
Displaying Essential Folders:
Unhide crucial labels for easy access by selecting Show under Manage labels.
Use NewMail to Organize Gmail Inbox Using Folders
Proactive executive AI agent, NewMail, is the perfect AI email assistant to help you with Gmail inbox organization. Seamlessly integrating with Gmail, Apple Mail, Google Calendar, and Google Tasks, it transforms inbox management into a personalized, automated experience. For professionals seeking efficiency and peace of mind, NewMail is the ultimate productivity partner. It helps with managing folders in the following ways.
Categorize and Prioritize Folders with Custom Labels: Apply color-coded labels like "Urgent," "Important," and "Interesting" to seamlessly sort emails into specific folders, helping you quickly access critical information and maintain an organized inbox.
Automate Folder-Based Email Management: Set up filters to automatically label, archive, or move emails to designated folders, ensuring your Gmail inbox stays well-organized and easy to navigate.
Smart Folder Filtering: Automatically sort CCs and cold calls into designated folders, archive them, or mark them as read for a clutter-free inbox.
Conclusion
An organized Gmail inbox is more than just visually appealing; it’s a powerful tool for better productivity and peace of mind. By using folders (labels), creating subfolders, and leveraging filters for automation, you can simplify email management significantly.
NewMail serves as your executive AI assistant, streamlining your email management for maximum productivity. It handles everything from categorizing messages by priority to crafting smart, time-saving replies. By keeping your inbox organized and efficient, NewMail frees you to focus on what truly drives impact and helps you achieve your goals.