triage_rules.md
72 lines · small-business/skills/inbox-manager/reference/triage_rules.md at 2574e29
Most marks come from matching words in the file, so treat them as pointers.
Triage rules
Three buckets. The whole value of this skill is that the first bucket is short and correct.
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Bucket 1 — Needs you
An item belongs here only if the owner personally has to do something. Test it against these:
| Signal | Example |
|---|---|
| A decision only the owner can make | Approve a change order, accept or decline a job |
| Money moving | An invoice over the owner's threshold, a refund request, a payment dispute |
| An unhappy customer | Complaint, escalation, a second email with sharper tone |
| A hard deadline | Permit, insurance renewal, tax notice, bid due date |
| A commitment already promised | The owner said "I'll get you a number Wednesday" and it is Wednesday |
| Anything legal or regulatory | Contract, lien notice, agency letter, subpoena |
| Payment details changed | New bank or remit-to info, urgent wire request, lookalike sender domain — needs you, never drafted, verify by phone |
Rank by consequence, not arrival time. What happens if this is missed for 24 hours? A license lapsing on Friday outranks a vendor question from an hour ago, even though the vendor email is newer.
Keep it to five items where possible. If eight qualify, list all eight — but if twenty qualify, the threshold is wrong and the triage needs tightening, not the owner needs a longer list.
Raw lines 7 to 24Bucket 2 — Drafted
A reply is written and waiting for a yes. Most mail lands here.
Typical: routine customer questions, scheduling back-and-forth, supplier confirmations, an ask the owner has answered a dozen times before.
The owner's job on this bucket is to skim and approve, not to think.
Raw lines 25 to 32Bucket 3 — Handled
Receipts, newsletters, shipping notices, calendar invites already accepted, platform notifications, automated reports.
Report these as a count with categories, never as a list. "41 handled — 22 receipts, 9 newsletters, 6 shipping, 4 platform notices." One line. The owner can ask to see any category.
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Edge cases
A thread with both a receipt and a question. The question wins. Bucket by what the owner has to do, not by what the email mostly is.
A newsletter from a real person the owner knows. Still handled. Relationship does not make it actionable.
Cold sales pitches. Handled. Do not draft a reply, do not surface them. Owners get dozens and every one surfaced costs credibility.
Something you cannot classify. Put it in "needs you" and say plainly that you were unsure why. Under-filing is cheap; over-filing loses a customer.
A thread where someone else at the business already replied. Leave it alone and note it. Replying underneath a colleague looks disorganized and undercuts the person who handled it.
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Worked example — Okonkwo Mechanical, Tuesday morning
Ray's inbox: 63 new since yesterday afternoon.
Needs you (4)
- Bexar County permit renewal — expires Friday. Mechanical contractor license renewal, USD 340, needs Ray's signature. Missing it stops work on three active jobs.
- Delgado Properties — change order, USD 4,200. Ellen Delgado wants two extra rooftop units added to the Rosewood job. Needs a yes or a no before their Thursday board meeting.
- Marisol Reyes — second email, unhappy. Unit at the Alamo Heights house still cycling after last week's service. First email was Thursday, unanswered.
- Fitzgerald & Co — you promised a number Wednesday. Ray wrote "I'll have a price to you Wednesday" on the 14th. It is Wednesday.
Drafted and waiting (11) — three scheduling replies, two supplier confirmations, four routine service questions, two referral thank-yous.
Handled (48) — 26 receipts, 11 newsletters, 7 shipping notices, 4 platform notifications.
Handed off (3) — 2 vendor bills to ap-processor, 1 web form inquiry to speed-to-lead.
Ray reads that in about a minute and knows exactly what his morning is.
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