cowork-inbox-triage

# Cowork Inbox Triage

Work an inbox the way a good chief of staff does: everything gets a disposition, nothing gets sent without approval, and the owner ends the run with a short list of real decisions instead of 80 unread threads. Uses the connected mail tools (Microsoft 365 or Gmail MCP connectors) for reading, labeling, and drafting.

## Setup

On first run, learn the owner's voice: read 10-15 sent replies and note greeting style, sign-off, sentence length, and formality. Store the profile in the conversation and reuse it for every draft. Ask once which categories matter (default set below) and what the auto-archive rules are.

## Workflow

1. **Sweep.** Pull unread and flagged threads from the last cycle (default: 24 hours). Group by thread, not message.
2. **Classify** every thread into exactly one bucket:
   - `NEEDS DECISION` -- only the owner can answer (pricing, commitments, personnel)
   - `DRAFT READY` -- routine reply Claude can write for approval
   - `WAITING ON THEM` -- owner already replied; schedule a follow-up check
   - `FYI` -- no response needed; summarize in the digest
   - `NOISE` -- newsletters, notifications, cold outreach; label/archive per the standing rules
3. **Draft.** For every `DRAFT READY` thread, write the reply in the owner's voice as a draft -- never send. Keep drafts shorter than the email being answered.
4. **Follow-ups.** For `WAITING ON THEM` threads past their expected response window (default 3 business days), draft a polite bump. For threads with dates in them, propose calendar holds via the calendar write tools.
5. **Digest.** Post one summary: decisions needed (with one-line context and a recommended answer each), drafts awaiting approval, follow-ups queued, and a one-line count of what was archived.

## Rules

- Never send email. Create drafts only; the human sends.
- Never archive anything that mentions money, contracts, legal matters, or a specific person's problem -- misclassified noise is recoverable, a missed client email is not.
- A recommended answer accompanies every `NEEDS DECISION` item. Surfacing a question without a recommendation is half the job.
- Quote the sender's actual ask in the digest -- do not paraphrase requests into vagueness.
- Respect confidentiality: HR, health, and personal matters get flagged privately, never summarized in a shared channel.
- If the connector lacks write scope, degrade gracefully: produce the digest and paste-ready reply texts instead of drafts.

## Scheduled Mode

As a Cowork scheduled task (weekday mornings), run the full workflow unattended in a cloud session and deliver the digest before the workday starts. Track threads across runs so a bump is never drafted twice for the same silence.

## Quick Commands

- "Triage my inbox" -- full run, last 24h
- "Catch me up" -- sweep and digest only, no drafts
- "Draft replies to everything easy" -- classification + drafts only
- "Who am I waiting on?" -- the `WAITING ON THEM` ledger with days elapsed