email-triage

name	email-triage
category	kumite-task
description	Triage an inbox or thread, surface what needs a reply, and draft replies in your voice. Use during morning triage or when returning from time off. Triggers: "triage my inbox", "what needs a reply", "draft replies", returning-from-PTO inbox, end-of-week sweep.

Email Triage

Inbox zero is a fad. Decision-zero is the goal — every message either acted on, delegated, deferred with a date, or deleted.

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Quick Reference (the four buckets)

Bucket	What it is	Action
Decide now	You + a reply needed today	Draft reply in your voice
Delegate	Better-owned by someone else	Handoff with context links
Defer (with date)	Real but not now	Snooze with explicit return date
FYI	No action	Archive

When to Use

• Morning triage.
• Returning from PTO / OOO.
• End-of-week sweep.
• Whenever inbox > 50 unread.

How to Use

1. Ask Copilot to bucket unread mail into: Decide now, Delegate, Defer (with date), FYI.
2. For each Decide now: ask for a draft reply that matches your voice (give Copilot 2–3 prior sent messages as voice samples).
3. Read every draft before sending. Verify any commitments (dates, dollar amounts, names).
4. For Delegate: draft the handoff including context links so the delegate doesn't have to re-discover.

Examples

Don't: Triage anti-pattern	Do: Triage done right
Read everything top-to-bottom	Bucket first, draft second
Auto-send Copilot drafts	Read every draft; verify commitments
"Defer" without a date	Snooze to a specific date
Delegate "FYI for you"	Delegate with context + the actual ask

Critical Rules

• Triage reduces inbox size. Reading isn't triage.
• Every Defer has a date. Otherwise it's avoidance.
• Voice samples for replies. 2–3 prior sent items per recipient context.
• Commitments get verified. Copilot will invent a date if you let it.
• Never auto-send.

Common Pitfalls

• Letting Copilot send drafts unread.
• Replies that commit to a date Copilot invented.
• Triage that doesn't reduce inbox size — that's reading, not triage.
• Delegations without context — the delegate has to re-discover.
• Defers piling up because no return date set.

Anti-Patterns

• Letting Copilot send drafts unread.
• Replies that commit to a date Copilot invented.
• Triage that doesn't reduce inbox size — that's reading, not triage.
• Bucketing by sender prestige instead of decision urgency.

Verify Before Sending

• Every draft read by you.
• Every commitment (date, $, name) verified.
• Recipient list correct (To/Cc/Bcc).
• Voice matches the recipient's expectations.
• Subject preserves thread.
• Defers all have a return date.

Related

• outlook-connector
• agent-handoff — for delegate drafts
• verify-before-send, protect-sensitive-info