Email Triage

Email Triage

Classify a batch of email subjects + senders into action buckets and surface inbox-zero candidates.

Keywords

email, inbox, inbox zero, triage, unsubscribe, mailing list, mailbox, gmail, outlook, productivity

Clarify First

Before triaging, confirm these inputs. If any is unknown or vague, ASK — do not assume:

• [ ] Inbox export fields — subject, sender, snippet drive classification accuracy; missing columns degrade the buckets
• [ ] Priority / VIP senders — who always routes to reply_now regardless of content
• [ ] Unsubscribe tolerance — purge all marketing vs keep newsletters you value; sets how aggressive the unsubscribe/delete buckets are

Stop rule: ask only the 2-3 that most change the output. If the user says "just draft it," proceed and list your assumptions at the top of the artifact.

Quick Start

• Export inbox to CSV with columns: subject,sender,snippet,received_at
• Run: python scripts/email_classifier.py inbox.csv
• Review action buckets; act on each in order

Core Workflows

Workflow 1: Weekly Inbox Triage

• Export the past week's inbox
• Run classifier
• Action in order: reply-now → reply-later (move to follow-up folder) → archive → unsubscribe → delete
• Apply Gmail filters (see assets/gmail_filter_template.md) so future similar emails route automatically

Time Estimate: 30-45 minutes for a busy week.

Workflow 2: Unsubscribe Pass

• Run classifier; review unsubscribe candidates
• Unsubscribe in batch (most senders honor unsubscribe links within ~10 days)
• For senders that don't honor, set Gmail filter to auto-delete

Time Estimate: 15 minutes per pass.

Workflow 3: Inbox-Zero Reset

• Apply the full inbox-zero method from references/inbox_zero_method.md
• Move every email older than 30 days to archive (you'll find 1% later via search)
• Triage the remaining recent emails using the classifier

Time Estimate: 1-2 hours one-time; then 20 min/week to maintain.

Tools

email_classifier.py

Classifies email rows into action buckets using rule-based pattern matching on sender domain, subject line, and snippet.

python scripts/email_classifier.py inbox.csv
python scripts/email_classifier.py inbox.csv --json

Action buckets:

• reply_now — direct addressing, time-sensitive language, named-person sender
• reply_later — informational threads, longer non-urgent
• archive — receipts, confirmations, completed transactions
• unsubscribe — newsletters, marketing, promotional
• delete — spam patterns, low-signal senders
• review — couldn't classify confidently

Reference Guides

• references/inbox_zero_method.md — Method, daily routine, common pitfalls

Templates

• assets/gmail_filter_template.md — Common Gmail filter recipes for the action buckets above

Best Practices

• The 2-minute rule: if a reply takes < 2 minutes, do it now.
• Don't archive instead of unsubscribing. Recurring senders compound — kill the source.
• Process in batches. Constant inbox checking destroys focus more than email itself.
• Inbox is not a to-do list. Move action items to a real task tool.