The 33 Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts That Save Me 60 Hours Per Year

One year ago, I invested about two minutes into learning shortcuts for Gmail.

Since then, it's saved me about one second per email action (ex. deleting, reply, composing, etc), which equals roughly 15 minutes per day.

That means over the past year, I've spent 60 fewer hours in Gmail.

As a marketer, this extra time is crucial. For salespeople, it could be the difference between hitting quota and falling short.

Here's the problem: there are a LOT of keyboard shortcuts for Gmail, and not all of them are actually useful.

Understanding this, I've compiled the most useful keyboard shortcuts for Gmail. It's organized by the three views (Inbox View, Conversation View, and Compose View) we experience in Gmail:

Here's the best part: these shortcuts can be learned in less than two minutes. The first step is to turn on Gmail keyboard shortcuts.

Once the Gmail keyboard shortcuts are enabled, you're ready to start testing them out. We'll start out with shortcuts for the inbox view. This view is the list of read and unread messages in our inbox:

Then we'll take a look at shortcuts for the conversation and compose views. Without further ado, here are the most useful keyboard shortcuts.

1. Open keyboard shortcut help (Shift + ?)

Need help at any point during the shortcut process? Simply hold Shift, then the ? key. A cheat sheet of all Gmail shortcuts will populate your screen. Close it when you're done, or open it in a new screen to keep it easily available.

2. Select a continuous series of messages (Shift)

To select a continuous series of emails, I check the box for an email, hold Shift, then select the last email in the series.

3. Select a random series of messages (Command)

To select a random number of emails, I check the box for an email, hold Command, then choose the designated emails.

4. Select all unread messages (Shift + 8 + u)

Hold Shift and 8, then press u to select all unread messages. I use this in combination with the next shortcut (archive) to quickly archive messages I don't need to open.

5. Archive selected messages (e)

After the boxes are selected for the messages I want to archive (using one of the above three methods), I click e to archive them. This helps me quickly reach inbox zero by archiving messages that aren't important.

6. Mark selected messages as important (=)

On the contrary, when I have numerous important messages selected, I press = to mark them all as important.

7. Compose (c)

Sometimes I just need to quickly compose a message from the inbox view, so I press c to do this.

8. Search for messages (/)

Press "/" to move your cursor into the search tab quickly.

When I need to search my inbox, I press / to quickly put my cursor in the search tab.

9. Go to tasks (g + k)

To go directly to tasks, press g then k. You'll be taken directly to your task list where you can ensure you answer emails, meet deadlines, and follow up in a timely manner.

10. Add a conversation to tasks (Shift + t)

Simply select the conversations you'd like to add to tasks and hold down Shift while you press t. You'll be taken directly to your task list where you'll see your selected task auto-populate.

The Most Useful Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts For "Conversation View"

Conversation View is when we're reading an email after clicking on it from the Inbox View:

1. Reply (r)

When reading a message, press r to quickly respond to it.

2. Reply all (a)

Need to reply to more than one person? Press a to "reply all" in a message thread.

3. Forward (f)

Do you need to quickly forward an email? Pressing f will forward the current message to someone.

4. Mark current message as unread (Shift + u)

If I need to respond to a message, but don't have time, I'll hold Shift and press u to mark it as unread and come back to it later.

5. Mark selected message as important (=)

If I'm reading a message that's important and I'll need to reference it later, I'll mark it as important by pressing = (the same shortcut for marking as important in the Inbox View).

6. Archive selected message (e)

To archive the current conversation, just press e (again, the same shortcut for archiving in Inbox View).

7. Jump to newer email (k)

To jump to the next email, press k.

8. Jump to previous email (j)

To jump to the previous email, press j.

9. Jump to next message in an email thread (n)

When I'm catching up on a lengthy email thread, I press n to quickly jump to the next conversation in the thread. This saves me time instead of scrolling with my mouse.

10. Jump to previous message in an email thread (p)

Conversely, if you need to return to the previous conversation in a lengthy email thread, press p to jump backward.

11. Mute the never-ending-and-not-important thread (m)

This is one of my favorites. When I'm stuck in a lengthy thread that's irrelevant to me, I press m to mute the thread. Thus, any new replies that come to this thread are automatically archived.

12. Jump back to inbox view (u)

To jump back to the Inbox View from Conversation View, just press u.

The Most Useful Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts For "Compose View"

Compose View is simply when we're composing a message:

1. Insert link (Command + k)

To insert a link, hold Command then press k.

2. Insert numbered list (Command + Shift + 7)

To insert a numbered list, hold Command and Shift, then press 7.

3. Insert bullet points (Command + Shift + 8)

To insert a bullet point, hold Command and Shift, then press 8.

4. Bold / Italicize / Underline (Command + b / Command + I / Command + u)

Not trying to be captain obvious here, but couldn't leave these classic keyboard shortcuts out.

5. Remove formatting (Command + Control + \)

Sure, there's a "remove formatting" button, but this shortcut lets you keep typing without hitting the mouse. Hold down Command and Control while you press the \ button.

6. Switch between send name, subject line, and body of email (Tab)

Press Tab to quickly switch between the recipient, subject line, and body when composing an email.

7. Send Email (Command + Enter)

Hold Command and press Enter to send an email.

Did you delete a few emails by accident? All you have to do is press z to undo your previous action.

Are you struggling to indent a line of text in Gmail? Indenting or tabbing can be tricky in Gmail, but luckily, there's a shortcut for that.

Press command + } to tab your text to the right, and press command + { to undo the indent.

If you need to perform a bulk action, like marking messages as read/unread, deleting emails, or moving emails from one folder to another, use the * + a shortcut to select all messages.

Is your inbox getting out of control? Mark all messages as read by pressing * + a. Then, press Shift + i to mark all of the selected emails as read.

It only takes a few minutes to learn these shortcuts. And since you'll be using email for the rest of your life, don't you think it's worth investing a few minutes into mastering these?