Nine tips and tricks to get the most out of your iPhone's email app

By Lisa Eadicicco

Managing your email can be a daunting task, especially if you're constantly sending messages from your phone.
Luckily, there are a few features in iOS that make it easy to save drafts, type emails faster, and see your newest emails on your lock screen right away.

Here are a few pointers that can help you get the most out of the Mail app on your iPhone.

(Note: These tips work on iPhones running iOS 8, Apple's latest iPhone software version).

1. You can minimize email drafts and save them for later

If you're typing an email, simply tap the area where the subject line is and drag it down to the bottom of your screen. Now your email is minimized at the bottom of your inbox, and you can tap it again at any time to access it. This makes it easy to switch back and forth between your inbox and the message you're working on.

2. Use gesture shortcuts, such as swiping to the right on any email to mark it as read

There are a few handy gesture shortcuts in your iPhone's Mail app that make it easier to clean up your inbox. You can automatically mark a message as read without having to open it by swiping to the right on any email. You'll see the blue box that says "Mark as Read," as shown in the picture to the right.

3. If you swipe to the left on any email, you'll get another menu of choices

If you don't want to mark an email as read but still want to move it, try swiping to the left on any email. This will bring up a few choices, such as flagging an email or archiving it.

4. Access a bunch of other options by tapping the "More" button

When you swipe to the left to reveal the"Flag" and "Archive" buttons, you'll also notice there's also a "More" option that appears. When you can tap it, you'll launch a separate menu with more choices such as the ability to mark an email as unread, reply to an email, forward an email, and more.

5. If you swipe all the way to the left on an email, you can automatically archive it

If you just want to archive a message quickly without dealing with any menus, just swipe all the way to the left on any email. This tells your phone to archive it.

6. Use a third-party keyboard app to type emails faster

Ever since last fall you've been able to use third-party keyboards on the iPhone, which means you don't have to stick with the keyboard Apple automatically puts on your phone if you don't want to. Some of these keyboards, such as Swype, can make it easier to type emails more quickly with one hand — especially if you're using the large-screened iPhone 6 Plus. With Swype, for instance, you can type by swiping from letter to letter on the keyboard rather than tapping each key.

7. Turn on "Handoff" so that you can start an email on your iPhone and finish it on your Mac

Apple has a feature called "Handoff" that lets you pick up where you left off when switching between your iPhone and your Mac. To use this feature, you'll have to make sure your Mac is running OS X Yosemite.

8. Use the Spotlight Search bar to quickly find important messages

If you need to quickly sift through messages, you can do so without even launching the Mail app. Drag down from the top of the screen to reveal the Spotlight Search bar. Since this search bar is capable of going through your emails, you can type in the subject of an email, the name of the sender or recipient, or any other key words to find emails quickly.

9. If you want to see emails right away, make sure they appear on your iPhone's lock screen

If you really want to see emails as they come in without having to launch the Mail app, set up your notifications so that emails appear on the lock screen. To do this, head over to Settings>Notifications>Mail. From there, click on whichever inbox you want to see on the lock screen. Then, make sure "Show on Lock Screen" is turned on.