You are probably using Gmail already. Or maybe you are using Gmail Apps for business. However you are using Gmail, you could very well be using a repertoire of other apps to complete your workflow.

Much like an ecosystem that you come to depend on, Google’s services sync, and they sync really well.

The best part: you can post most of this ecosystem to any desktop computer, laptop, or mobile device.

But did you know that you could use an entire set of other tools and apps that can change the way you use Gmail?

In fact your Gmail usage takes on a new life. So much that you’d begin to fall all over in love with email once again.

Here are some of apps (some owned by Google, some yet to be launched, and some launched already) that can make Gmail incredible to use:

The new Google Calendar App

Google didn’t really have a “”calendar app” until now, technically. It did have its good, old Google Calendar which did a fairly good job with date and time keeping or tracking events but there was something lacking in there. If you checked out the all-new Google Android, the interface makes every other Google’s own tools slightly lacking in charm, character, and “color”.

So, there’s a new Calendar App coming up and it’s built to make you fall in love with your workday. There’s color, character, and it just works like a charm.

It’s coming to Android soon so check it out here.

Grexit

If you ever thought that the regular productivity management solutions were lacking in form or function, or if you thought that they might be a little too overweight in use, you are right. Not all project collaboration tools as well as they claim. Either that or your use case doesn’t demand that much of a feature set.

What do you do then? You take to Grexit – a Gmail plugin that puts your Gmail labels on steroids. Assign labels such as

Task: team member name
Collect: receipts
Record: transactions

Each of these high-powered labels can be color-coded and they work along with your usual Gmail labels.

Mailflo

Another super tool from the makers of Grexit, Mailflo is another Gmail plugin that’s specifically built for teams dealing with myriad cases of customer service. It’s like “Grexit” for customer service.

So, instead of depending entirely on another system for managing customers and support tickets, Mailflo App turns your Gmail into a massive support system for handling your customers better and collaboration system internally for your team.

Connect6

Outreach is getting difficult by the day. There ought to be a way for you to differentiate yourself from the legions of link builders, guest posters, socially savvy sales people, business owners, and even general social media enthusiasts.

Something has to give. Connect6 does give.

While sitting as an extension on your Chrome Browser, it pops up information on any social profile or email address you might find on the web. Information like who people are, what they like, what they do, and a lot more.

A mere glance lasting a second gives you more insight about the person you are following on social media, for instance, than any search you might ever want to do. It’s time to put your outreach on steroids.

Streak

Ever wanted to turn your Gmail Inbox into a full-blown CRM and actually have fun using it? Streak is a nifty tool that’s built to turn your inbox into a CRM and it does that very well.

Be it product development, product design, sales, marketing, startup, business planning, or even recruiting, Streak just plugs into your workflow. Meanwhile, you’d never have to leave your Inbox.

While you dwell within your inbox, there are some power features that you’d love to use such as Snooze, send later, thread splitter, mail merge, and view tracking.

What are some of those Gmail tools and plugins you absolutely can’t do without?