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.