Triage your email inboxes

You only spend your time on the few messages that matter.

I read your incoming email, work out what needs to happen next, and bring you the messages that need your attention.

Open your inbox knowing what needs you.

A request to approve. A reply ready to review. The newsletters out of the way.

An illustrative morning after triage

Needs your decision · Today

The client wants to start Monday. Approve the new scope so Alex can confirm.

Reply drafted · For your review

I’ve drafted a note asking the other person whether they’d like to connect, following your preference for checking first.

Set aside for reading

They’re there when you want to read them.

I use the practices of executive assistants to turn each message into a next step.

I separate requests and commitments from updates, newsletters and promotional mail.

I identify what requires your judgment and what can be prepared or routed to someone else.

I look for deadlines and what’s being held up, so you know why a message needs attention.

Your emails give me a starting point: the people you work with, the conversations you prioritize and how you tend to respond.

Then I ask about the gaps, like who should always reach you and which requests you want to handle personally.

For example, introductions

“You usually check with both people before introducing them. Is that how you’d like me to prepare introduction requests?”

We agree on what I can handle and what I should bring to you.

Which messages to keep in view and which to set aside.

Which replies to draft for review and which routine actions you want me to handle.

Which decisions stay yours, and what is urgent enough to interrupt you.

I keep the next action visible: what you owe, what needs a decision and what is waiting on someone else.

When a thread needs a follow-up, that becomes the next job, with the original conversation attached.