IntermediateLesson 4 of 58 min read
Getting on top of your inbox
A course from the Academy: Getting organised with AI: notes, meetings, email
Go to the quiz ↓Email is often the biggest time leak of the day. AI won't empty your inbox for you, but it can halve the time spent reading and writing.
Read less
- Summarise long threads: "summarise this exchange in three lines and tell me what's expected of me".
- Sort: many email apps already sort automatically (priority, promotions, notifications). Check the sorting for the first few weeks, then trust it.
- Batch: two or three times a day, rather than at every notification.
Write faster
- A draft from three words: "decline politely, suggest next week, friendly tone". The AI writes, you adjust.
- Templates for recurring replies (quotes, reminders, booking a meeting): have them written once, keep them, reuse them.
- Keep your voice: give the AI two or three of your real emails as examples of your style.
The limits
- Never send without rereading: an invented figure or an off tone goes out under your name.
- Mind the data: pasting a client's email into a consumer tool means handing their information to a third party. Prefer the assistant built into your work email, or remove sensitive names and figures.
Analogy. An executive assistant who sorts the mail and drafts the replies. They save hours, but you're still the one who signs.
Key takeaways
- Summarise long threads, sort, batch.
- Drafts from a few words, templates for recurring replies.
- Always reread before sending.
- Be careful with clients' emails in consumer tools.
Complete the lesson
A 4-question quiz: 3 correct answers are enough, plus an exercise to practise. It opens in the Academy, on this same lesson.
Take the quiz and complete the lesson Free. With an account, your progress is saved and leads to the course certificate.