missive-inbox-triage

Core Principles

Decide, Don't Defer

Every conversation should get a decision: respond, delegate, schedule, archive, or delete. Avoid "I'll deal with this later" piles.

Urgency vs Importance

• •Urgent + Important: Handle immediately
• •Important, not urgent: Schedule time for it
• •Urgent, not important: Delegate or quick response
• •Neither: Archive or delete

Time-Based Triage

For regular inbox processing, work through conversations newest-to-oldest. For catch-up after absence, oldest-to-newest.

Triage Decision Framework

1. Can I Delete/Archive This?

• •Spam → Delete
• •Newsletter I don't read → Unsubscribe or delete
• •FYI with no action needed → Archive
• •Completed thread → Archive/close

2. Does This Need a Response?

• •Direct question to me → Yes
• •Request for me → Yes
• •CC'd for awareness only → Probably not
• •Auto-notification → No

3. Can I Respond in 2 Minutes?

• •Yes → Do it now (or draft it)
• •No → Schedule dedicated time

4. Am I the Right Person?

• •Yes → Process it
• •No → Delegate/forward with context

Identifying Priority Conversations

High Priority Indicators

• •From VIPs (executives, key clients, important contacts)
• •Time-sensitive language ("urgent", "ASAP", "by EOD", "deadline")
• •Blockers (someone waiting on you to proceed)
• •Revenue/customer impact
• •Escalations

Medium Priority Indicators

• •Direct requests with reasonable timelines
• •Follow-ups on ongoing work
• •Meeting requests
• •Questions requiring research

Low Priority Indicators

• •FYI/informational
• •Newsletters you actually read
• •Non-urgent internal updates
• •Social/networking messages

Triage Workflow

Quick Scan Phase

1. •Fetch recent conversations: missive_conversations action: list
2. •Scan subjects and senders for high-priority flags
3. •Identify spam/obvious archives first

Decision Phase

For each conversation:

1. •Read enough to understand what's needed
2. •Classify: Archive, Respond, Delegate, Schedule, or Task
3. •Take action or note the decision

Action Phase

• •Archive: Close the conversation
• •Respond: Draft reply (use draft-reply skill)
• •Delegate: Assign to appropriate team member
• •Schedule: Create task with due date
• •Task: Add to task list for follow-up

Skip/Archive Criteria

Automatically skip or archive:

• •Marketing emails - Promotional content, sales pitches
• •Newsletters - Unless explicitly wanted
• •Automated notifications - System alerts with no action needed
• •Social media notifications - LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.
• •Completed transactions - Order confirmations, receipts (archive, don't delete)
• •Calendar confirmations - Meeting accepted/declined notifications

Batch Processing Strategies

The 4 D's

• •Delete: Trash it
• •Do: Handle it now (< 2 min)
• •Delegate: Assign to someone else
• •Defer: Schedule for later

Touch It Once

Avoid re-reading the same email multiple times. Make a decision on first read when possible.

Time Boxing

Set a fixed time for triage (e.g., 15 min morning, 15 min afternoon). Process what you can, then stop.

Using Missive Features for Triage

Conversation Status

• •Open/Close conversations as you process
• •Use closed status to indicate "handled"

Assignments

• •Assign to self = "I own this"
• •Assign to others = delegation
• •Use missive_conversations to check assignee

Tasks

• •Create tasks for follow-ups: missive_tasks action: create
• •Include due dates for time-sensitive items
• •Link tasks to conversations