These Email Templates Make Inbox Management so Much Easier

An important part of email management, beyond keeping your inbox at a manageable level, is setting yourself up to be able to respond quickly and efficiently. And you can do that by creating some email templates that are always ready to go so you save precious minutes out of your day. Let’s go over how to create templates, and figure out the types you need.

How to create an email template

An email template is a pre-written version of a message you send often that you can just pull up and send out (with a few tweaks, if necessary) so you don’t have to keep typing the same thing over and over again. You can make them in the leading email service providers.

How to make an email template in Gmail

Enable templates in Gmail by going into your setting (the gear-shaped icon) and hitting “See all settings.” From there, go to the advanced settings and the “Templates” section and choose “Enable.” Save the changes, then compose a new email. Start typing whatever you want as a template, then click the three dots in the bottom right corner of the new message window. You’ll see a “Template” option and when you hover over it, you can “Save draft as template.” Save it as a new template and give it a name, then save that. When it’s time to send this template out, you’ll be able to access it from that same three-dot menu in a new composition window, just by clicking “Templates” in the menu.

How to make an email template in Outlook

In Outlook, the process is similar. Open a new email window, type whatever you want your template to say, then go to “File” and “Save As.” You’ll see a “Save as type” list where you can click “Outlook Template.” You’ll be prompted to enter a file name and save it. When you want to use it, just go to “New Items” in the top-left corner of the screen, then “More Items” and “Choose Form.” Find the drop-down menu called “Look In” and select “User Templates,” then open it.

Good templates to have on hand

Obviously, your templates should be things that you type frequently. For instance, if part of your job is onboarding new workers, you should have the step-by-step process you typically send them saved as a template. Other good uses for this are:

• A template that can function like a manual out-of-office, letting people know you’re unavailable but will respond when you can
• A template you use when you delegate tasks to someone else
• A template for requesting to be removed from an email chain
• A template for any weekly or monthly reminders or updates it’s your responsibility to send out
• A template to let clients or coworkers know you received something and are working on it

Since the templates open in a new message and are completely editable, you can keep them bare-bones and fill in any specifics, and it is still a major time-saver.