Apple Mail MCP Server

# Email Triage Guide Email triage is the process of quickly assessing and categorizing emails to determine priority and action needed. Think of it like a hospital emergency room - not all emails need immediate attention, but you need to quickly identify which ones do. ## Triage vs. Inbox Zero **Triage**: Quick categorization and prioritization (10-15 min) **Inbox Zero**: Complete processing to empty inbox (30-60 min) Use triage when: - You're short on time - You have hundreds of unread emails - You need to identify urgent items quickly - You're returning from vacation - You want to stay on top of email without full processing ## The Triage Priority System ### Priority Levels **P0 - URGENT (Red Alert)** - Requires immediate action (within 1 hour) - Time-sensitive deadlines - System outages or critical issues - Boss requests with tight deadlines **P1 - HIGH (Yellow Alert)** - Important but not immediately urgent - Should handle today - Key stakeholder requests - Project-critical information **P2 - MEDIUM (Green Light)** - Important but can wait 1-2 days - Routine project updates - Non-urgent requests - Scheduled meetings/events **P3 - LOW (Blue Zone)** - Can wait indefinitely - FYI emails - Newsletters and reading material - Nice-to-have information **P4 - NOISE (Gray Area)** - Delete immediately - Spam, promotions, unwanted newsletters - Irrelevant CCs ## Quick Triage Workflow (10-15 minutes) ### Step 1: Get Situational Awareness (2 min) ``` get_inbox_overview() ``` **Look for**: - Total unread count - Which accounts have emails - Recent email subjects - Any obvious urgent keywords ### Step 2: Identify Urgent (P0) Items (3-5 min) ``` search_emails(subject_keyword="urgent", read_status="unread") search_emails(subject_keyword="ASAP", read_status="unread") search_emails(subject_keyword="immediate", read_status="unread") ``` **Additional searches**: - Boss's name: `search_emails(sender="boss@company.com", read_status="unread")` - "action required": `search_emails(subject_keyword="action required", read_status="unread")` - "deadline": `search_emails(subject_keyword="deadline", read_status="unread")` **Actions**: - Read and assess immediately - Respond if quick (<2 min) - Flag for immediate action: `update_email_status(action="flag", subject_keyword="...")` - Move to "Action Required" folder if you have one ### Step 3: Scan for Important Senders (P1) (3-5 min) ``` search_emails(sender="key-stakeholder@company.com", read_status="unread") search_emails(sender="important-client@client.com", read_status="unread") ``` **VIP Senders to check**: - Direct manager - C-suite executives - Key clients - Project sponsors - Important external partners **Actions**: - Read subject lines - Open if looks important - Flag for today: `update_email_status(action="flag", ...)` - Quick reply if possible ### Step 4: Quick Scan Remaining (P2-P4) (3-5 min) ``` get_recent_emails(count=50, include_content=False) ``` **Rapid categorization by subject line**: - **Calendar invites**: Accept/decline immediately - **Automated notifications**: Mark read or trash - **Newsletters**: Mass mark as read or move to reading folder - **CCs you're on**: Quickly assess relevance **Batch operations**: - Trash newsletters: `manage_trash(action="move_to_trash", sender="newsletter@...")` - Mark read automated: `update_email_status(action="mark_read", sender="no-reply@...")` ### Step 5: Set Context for Later (1-2 min) ``` get_unread_count() ``` **Mental note**: - How many emails need full processing later? - When will you do full inbox processing? - Are there patterns (too many from one source)? ## Advanced Triage Techniques ### The "Batch Triage" Method **For high email volume (100+ unread)**: 1. **First Pass - Delete (5 min)** - Identify and bulk delete obvious noise - Promotions, old automated emails, spam ``` search_emails(sender="promotions@", read_status="unread") manage_trash(action="move_to_trash", sender="promotions@", max_deletes=20) ``` 2. **Second Pass - Flag Urgent (5 min)** - Search and flag all P0 items - Use multiple search terms ``` search_emails(subject_keyword="urgent", read_status="unread") update_email_status(action="flag", subject_keyword="urgent", max_updates=10) ``` 3. **Third Pass - Mark Read FYIs (3 min)** - Bulk mark read items you don't need to open - CCs, automated reports you'll skip ``` update_email_status(action="mark_read", sender="automated@", max_updates=20) ``` 4. **Fourth Pass - Categorize Rest (7 min)** - Quickly scan remaining unread - Flag high priority, defer medium priority ### The "Time-Box Triage" Method **Set 15-minute timer**: - **Minutes 0-5**: Urgent only (P0) - **Minutes 5-10**: Important senders (P1) - **Minutes 10-15**: Quick wins (easy deletes, marks as read) **When timer ends**: Stop triaging. You've identified what matters. ### The "Vacation Recovery" Method **For returning from extended absence (200+ unread)**: 1. **Context Setting (5 min)** ``` get_inbox_overview() get_statistics(scope="account_overview", days_back=14) ``` - Understand what happened while away - Identify top senders 2. **Aggressive Culling (15 min)** - Delete all promotional emails - Mark read all automated reports (they're old news now) - Archive all meeting invites that already happened ``` search_emails(date_to="2025-01-15") # Before you returned # Review and bulk archive/delete ``` 3. **Search for Your Name (10 min)** ``` search_emails(subject_keyword="[Your Name]", read_status="unread") ``` - Find emails specifically about you or to you - These are likely important 4. **Key Stakeholder Scan (15 min)** - Check emails from boss, direct reports, key clients - Read chronologically to understand what happened 5. **Acknowledge Return (10 min)** - Send quick "I'm back" replies to important threads - Set expectations: "Catching up, will respond by [date]" 6. **Full Triage (30 min)** - Apply standard triage to remaining emails ## Triage Decision Tree ``` New Email Arrives | ├── From VIP Sender? │ └── YES → Read immediately, flag if needs action │ ├── Subject contains "urgent/ASAP/immediate"? │ └── YES → Read immediately, assess priority │ ├── Contains my name in subject? │ └── YES → Read subject, flag if actionable │ ├── Automated/Newsletter? │ └── YES → Mark read or delete │ ├── FYI/CC only? │ └── YES → Skim or mark read │ └── Regular email → Process during next full inbox session ``` ## Triage Shortcuts & Patterns ### Search Patterns for Quick Triage **Urgency Indicators**: ``` search_emails(subject_keyword="urgent") search_emails(subject_keyword="ASAP") search_emails(subject_keyword="today") search_emails(subject_keyword="immediate") search_emails(subject_keyword="deadline") ``` **Noise Indicators (for bulk deletion)**: ``` search_emails(subject_keyword="unsubscribe") # Newsletters search_emails(sender="no-reply@") # Automated search_emails(sender="noreply@") # Automated search_emails(subject_keyword="[Automated]") ``` **Action Indicators**: ``` search_emails(subject_keyword="action required") search_emails(subject_keyword="please review") search_emails(subject_keyword="your approval") search_emails(subject_keyword="response needed") ``` ### Batch Status Operations **Flag all urgent for processing**: ``` update_email_status(action="flag", subject_keyword="urgent", max_updates=10) ``` **Mark read all automated**: ``` update_email_status(action="mark_read", sender="automated@", max_updates=20) ``` **Unflag old items** (weekly cleanup): ``` # Find flagged items search_emails(mailbox="All") # Look for flags manually # Unflag completed ones update_email_status(action="unflag", subject_keyword="...", max_updates=10) ``` ## Daily Triage Schedules ### Morning Triage (First thing, 10-15 min) - Check overnight emails - Identify urgent items for the day - Flag high-priority items - Quick replies to easy questions ### Midday Triage (After lunch, 5-10 min) - Scan morning emails - Handle quick wins - Adjust priorities for afternoon ### End-of-Day Triage (Before leaving, 10 min) - Check afternoon emails - Flag items for tomorrow - Quick cleanup (delete obvious noise) - Set expectations (if something needs reply tomorrow) ### Optional: Evening Triage (Before bed, 5 min) - Check for emergencies only - Flag for morning if critical - Otherwise, let it wait ## Triage Metrics **Track these to improve triage efficiency**: 1. **Triage Time**: How long does quick triage take? - Target: <15 minutes - Improve by: Better search patterns, ruthless deletion 2. **Miss Rate**: How many "urgent" emails did you miss in triage? - Target: <1 per week - Improve by: Better urgency keywords, VIP sender lists 3. **False Positive Rate**: How many flagged emails weren't actually urgent? - Target: <20% - Improve by: Calibrate urgency thresholds 4. **Processing Debt**: Unread count after triage - Target: <50 unread - Improve by: More aggressive deletion, better triage ## Common Triage Mistakes ### 1. Reading Every Email During Triage **Problem**: Triage becomes processing; takes too long **Solution**: Only read subject lines unless urgent ### 2. Acting on Non-Urgent Emails **Problem**: Get sidetracked from urgent items **Solution**: Flag for later, stay focused on triage ### 3. Not Deleting Aggressively **Problem**: Too many low-priority emails clog inbox **Solution**: "When in doubt, delete it out" - you can always search later ### 4. Over-Flagging **Problem**: Everything flagged means nothing is prioritized **Solution**: Only flag P0 and P1 items, 10 flags max ### 5. Skipping Triage When Busy **Problem**: Urgent items get buried; fires start **Solution**: Triage is MORE important when busy, not less ## Integration with Full Processing **Triage is not a replacement for inbox processing**: - **Triage**: Quick scan (10-15 min) → Identifies priorities - **Processing**: Full handling (30-60 min) → Achieves inbox zero **Ideal Daily Pattern**: 1. Morning: Quick triage (10 min) 2. Mid-morning: Full processing (30 min) 3. Midday: Quick triage (5 min) 4. Afternoon: Full processing if needed (30 min) 5. End-of-day: Quick triage (5 min) ## Tools Summary | Task | Tool | Example | |------|------|---------| | Quick overview | `get_inbox_overview()` | Start here always | | Find urgent | `search_emails()` | subject_keyword="urgent" | | Check VIPs | `search_emails()` | sender="boss@company.com" | | Bulk flag | `update_email_status()` | action="flag" | | Bulk trash | `manage_trash()` | action="move_to_trash" | | Bulk mark read | `update_email_status()` | action="mark_read" | | Recent scan | `get_recent_emails()` | count=50 | | Check counts | `get_unread_count()` | See progress | ## Remember **Triage is about speed, not perfection**: - It's okay to miss non-urgent emails - Better to flag too few than too many - Delete aggressively - you can always search - Urgency is relative - calibrate to your role - Triage is a skill that improves with practice **When in doubt, ask yourself**: - "What happens if I don't see this email today?" - If answer is "nothing bad", defer it --- **Start practicing**: Set a 10-minute timer right now and triage your inbox. Focus only on finding urgent items. Stop when timer goes off.