Gmail is Full of Stars

I really appreciate that it’s now possible to activate a setting that allows you to click through multiple colors of stars to mark individual email — something I’ve wanted for a long time (I even requested the feature early in the life of Gmail).  The feature also includes other icons, but the simplicity of sticking with one symbol appeals to me. Here’s my system…

Yellow, the original color, identifies an email to be Reread later.

Orange identifies a non-email Task that can be done later.

Red identifies a non-email Task that needs to be dealt with immediately.

Purple identifies emails that require a Response.

Blue identifies an email that includes content that needs to be Shared or Saved.

Green identifies a completed task kept in the inbox for Reference.

And the other icons and what they could be used for:

The Green Check is useful keeping track of emails during a multi-email project.

The Blue Info icon can mark purely informational emails.

Emails “followed-up on” that need “followed-up on” again.

Priority tasks.

What the heck do I do with this email?

An email that needs to be forwarded to someone else.

I use the stars to identify what needs to be done with an email that I can’t deal with right away.  Once I have follow-through with the task, I remove the star and archive the message.

The feature is called Superstars by Kai H & Julie W and must first be enabled by visiting the Labs tab of the Gmail Settings (its the third item down right now). Once enabled, head over to the General tab where you will now find you will be able to pick and choose the little icons you want to use.

Good stuff!