15 hacks to make you more productive with Google Apps

Most of us spend a significant amount of time using Google Apps. They are convenient and free, and many scrappy teams are utilizing them.

We enjoy Google Apps because they make it easier for us to interact and operate productively. But there are moments when we wish they would do a little more. I have some excellent news for you if you're a scrappy team wanting to get more out of your Google Apps:)

A group of internet productivity hackers has built and open-sourced a plethora of Google App Scripts that can save us time and money that would otherwise be squandered or spent on costly alternatives.

Wait. What are Google Apps Scripts?

Google App Scripts allow additional functionality to be shared between popular Google Apps such as Gmail, Docs, and Forms. They are frequently produced by growth hacking engineers to assist you in saving money or increasing your productivity.

Have you utilized any of the tools available in Gmail Labs? The key distinctions are that Google App Scripts are implemented using code rather than clicks, and they frequently run throughout different Google Apps rather than being entirely contained within Gmail.

You may allow an infinite number of processes between applications and/or the wider web with a few lines of Javascript programmed directly into Google Docs.

Many Google App Scripts are similar to what you can perform with third-party solutions. The scripts have the advantage of being written directly into your Google Apps, making them more secure. They are, of course, free!

I'm not technical. Are Google App Scripts appropriate for me?

It is simple to set up Google App Scripts. It only takes a few clicks from here, a copy/paste, and you're done. The entire procedure takes roughly 1 minute.

Non-technical users can rely on copying and pasting scripts, as illustrated in the gif.

For the most part, there should be no cause for concern in terms of safety. Always examine scripts for suspicious URLs and use caution when third-party rights are necessary.

But this list; we're confident that this list is secure đŸ˜‰

15 tips for increasing productivity using Google Apps:

  1. Recognize When Your Website Is Down

When your website or app goes down, you'll get fast notifications. This may be set to run as frequently as every minute.

Paid alternatives: Statuspage.io, pingdom.com

  1. Search for Unreplied Emails in Gmail

Sending out sales emails but never receiving a response? This handy script searches your inbox for emails that have not received a response from the receiver after 5 days so you may follow up.

Paid alternatives: Sidekick, Streak, Toutapp, Boomerang

  1. Interact with Twitter Followers

Promote your service or products with Twitter direct messages. Create a spreadsheet with contacts and messages, and you'll be able to send customized messages in a matter of seconds.

Paid alternatives: Socedo

  1. Send Bulk Personal Emails

Everyone understands that personal emails are more likely to be opened than marketing ones. If you're okay with a torrent of replies, consider using this script to personalize your next customer feedback survey.

Paid alternatives: Customer.io, Sendgrid

  1. Gather Your Email Addresses for Drip Marketing

This script reads your email inbox and compiles a list of persons you've communicated with. To keep your involvement going, include them in your newsletter or important announcements.

Paid alternatives: Sidekick, Collabspot, Yesware

  1. Make Recurring Reports from Spreadsheets

Recurring meetings are frequently centered on a few important spreadsheets. Regularly emailing your spreadsheets as PDFs will enable your team to review the content before the meeting starts.

Paid alternatives: Keen.io

  1. Schedule for Document Permission Revocation

Remembering to turn off contractor access to your Google Drive account is one of the most challenging components of doing so. Utilize this script to automatically revoke permissions whenever their contractual term has passed. It will deter your legal team and is wonderful manners!

Paid alternatives: Box, Dropbox for Business

  1. Recognize when others read your emails

To observe when your emails are being read, collect email data in your Google Analytics account. This can help with everyday communications as well as outbound initiatives.

Paid alternatives: Sidekick, Collabspot, Yesware

  1. Discover Your Gmail Usage Data

Check your email habits so you can measure your progress and get better over time. You may get information from this Google App Script on your daily sent and received traffic, response times, word counts, and more.

Paid alternatives: Sidekick, Yesware

  1. Plan your emails!

When contacting someone on the opposite side of the globe, you may want to send it during their business hours. Other times, you want to reply immediately away but wait till later to submit. Use this script to handle these circumstances from a Google spreadsheet.

Paid alternatives: Sidekick, Collabspot, Yesware

  1. Receive Google Form Submissions via Email

Create surveys quickly and easily using Google Forms. You may use this script to receive an email notification with all of the data each time a user fills out the form, eliminating the need to continually check back on the survey results.

Paid alternatives: SurveyMonkey, Wufoo, EmailMeForm

  1. Create Twitter Interactions

Retweet or favorite tweets automatically based on location, hashtag, or URL. People will see your interactions and visit your profile/website more frequently. Give this a shot if you want to automate a wide range of social online interactions.

Paid alternatives: Narrow.io, Socedo

  1. Free Backup of Your Online Data

Make a backup of a website, URL, or anything else on the internet. We have used it to download copies of websites that we wish to be able to access in quick bursts over time and backup data.

  1. Going Somewhere? Locate Your Local Contacts Quickly

This application can assist you in identifying potential business contacts if you are traveling on business.

Paid alternatives: Salesforce, SugarCRM

  1. Streamline Your Reading List

Save every piece of information under a Gmail label to Evernote or Pocket for subsequent binge-reading to keep a closer check on the sector.