Building on the basics of Gmail organization, this post is for school staff who want to go a step further and set up systems that do the sorting for them. K12 Montana puts together these guides because we know most teachers and office staff don't have hours to spend on inbox management - so let's make Gmail do the work for you.
Gmail filters let you automate what happens to incoming emails based on rules you set. For example: any email from your principal automatically gets labeled "Leadership." Any email with "invoice" in the subject line goes to a "Finance" label. Any newsletter gets archived immediately.
Click the search bar at the top of Gmail and then click the filter icon (the funnel shape) on the right side of the search bar. Fill in the criteria for your filter - from a specific sender, containing certain words, with attachments, etc. Click Create filter.
On the next screen, choose what to do with matching emails: apply a label, mark as read, archive, delete, or forward. You can choose multiple actions. Click Create filter and it applies going forward (and optionally to existing messages).
In the left sidebar, scroll down and click More, then Create new label. Name it something meaningful. You can also nest labels under other labels - for example, a "Parent Communications" label with sub-labels for each grade level.
Right-click any label in the sidebar, hover over Label color, and choose a color. Color-coded labels make it much faster to visually scan your inbox.
The real power comes from combining the two. Create a label for "PD and Training," then create a filter that says: any email from your professional development coordinator automatically gets that label applied. Now you never have to manually sort those emails.
Want help getting your school's Google Workspace environment working smarter for your team? Contact K12 Montana Inc. We love helping Montana educators get more out of their technology.