1. Objective
This SOP governs the daily inbox triage process — the system that turns a chaotic, high-volume email inbox into a controlled, low-stress environment where your executive only sees what needs them and everything else is handled. Inbox Zero doesn't mean the inbox is always literally empty. It means every message has a clear status: handled, delegated, scheduled, or consciously waiting. Nothing is lost. Nothing is ignored. Nothing is forgotten.
Where this SOP starts: Every morning, as the first operational task after the priority sweep.
Where this SOP ends: At the end-of-day inbox check — when no open items are unresolved or untracked.Success looks like: Your executive opens their inbox and sees only what genuinely requires their input. They never discover a missed lead, buried client question, or overdue invoice — because those have been handled or surfaced before they find it themselves. The inbox is a source of clarity, not anxiety.
2. Your Role & Boundaries
2a. What you handle independently
- Executing the morning triage routine daily
- Processing all five triage categories and acting on Category 1 items immediately
- Unsubscribing from irrelevant marketing and setting up filters for newsletters
- Drafting replies for Category 2 items (executive-needed) and surfacing them with a note
- Managing the follow-up flag system — tracking what's waiting and sending follow-ups when due
2b. What requires executive approval before acting
- Sending any reply on their behalf that makes a commitment or involves a sensitive relationship
- Deleting or archiving any email chain that appears to involve an active client matter
- Unsubscribing from any list your executive has explicitly indicated they want to stay on
- Any response to a client complaint or escalated situation
2c. What you never do
- You never permanently delete emails without your executive's authorization — archive, never delete
- You never respond to a message requiring your executive's voice without drafting for their review first
- You never let a Level 1 item (inbound lead, client issue) sit in the inbox untouched at end of day
- You never surface more than what your executive actually needs in a given summary — don't overwhelm
3. The Five Triage Categories
Every message in the inbox falls into one of five categories. Processing the inbox means assigning each message a category and acting accordingly.
Category 1: Action Required — You Handle
You can fully resolve this message without your executive's input. Respond, schedule, confirm, unsubscribe, file.
Action: Handle it. Archive after resolution.
Category 2: Action Required — Executive Needed
This message needs a decision or response only your executive can provide.
Action: Draft a proposed reply for their review. Flag it in the @Review/Executive folder. Surface it in your morning check-in or day's summary — not one at a time as they arrive.
Category 3: Information Only — No Action
Receipts, confirmations, newsletters they've chosen to keep, FYI communications.
Action: File in the appropriate folder. No response needed.
Category 4: Follow-Up Required
You or your executive are waiting on someone.
Action: Flag with a follow-up date. If no response by that date, you send the follow-up on their behalf.
Category 5: Trash / Unsubscribe
Spam, irrelevant marketing, notifications they don't need.
Action: Delete or unsubscribe. Do not archive.
4. Daily Triage Routine
Morning triage (20–30 minutes)
- Identify any Level 1 items first. Inbound leads, client emergencies, anything time-sensitive. Handle these before processing anything else.
- Process remaining new messages through the five categories. Work newest to oldest within the 24-hour window.
- Batch Category 2 items for the morning check-in summary — don't surface them one at a time.
- Check @Waiting — are there follow-ups due today? Send them now.
- Clear any flagged newsletters — route to the Newsletters folder.
End-of-day check (10 minutes)
- Sweep the inbox for anything that arrived that afternoon that wasn't in the morning batch.
- Confirm nothing is sitting unaddressed in @Review/Executive — if your executive hasn't responded to something time-sensitive, flag it again.
- Update follow-up flags — add or adjust dates as needed.
- Confirm inbox is in Inbox Zero state — active conversations only, everything else filed.
5. Drafting for Executive Review
For Category 2 items, the most efficient workflow is to draft the reply rather than simply flagging the email and waiting.
Why this works:
- Reduces the cognitive work for your executive — they review and approve rather than compose
- Trains you in their voice over time (see SOP-CEA-COMM-03)
How to present the draft:
Draft for your review — send as-is or let me know if you'd like changes:
[Draft email]
Include a brief note if you made any judgment call: "I went slightly more formal since this is their first contact — adjust if needed."
6. Managing Subscriptions and Noise
In the first two weeks:
- Unsubscribe aggressively from every non-essential marketing email that appears.
- Create filters for newsletters they want to keep. Route to a "Newsletters" folder — out of the main inbox but findable when they want to read.
- Filter platform notifications (Slack, project tools, automated pings) out of the main inbox.
Ongoing:
- Every time a non-essential marketing email appears, unsubscribe in that session — don't let them accumulate.
- Review the Newsletters folder monthly — is there anything they've stopped reading? Unsubscribe.
7. The First-Week Inbox Audit
If you've just been given access to a disorganized inbox with hundreds or thousands of unread messages, follow this protocol. Do not try to process everything at once.
Day 1: Triage only the last two weeks. This is where active conversations live. Process through the five categories. Set up your folder structure before you start so mail goes to the right place as you work.
Day 2: Search for key terms: client names, "invoice," "proposal," "urgent," "follow up." Review results and handle any still-active items.
Days 3–5: Bulk-archive everything older than 60 days that isn't flagged active. If it surfaces as needed later, it's searchable. It does not belong in the inbox.
8. Escalation Protocol
Escalate when:
- A legal, media, or reputation-related message arrives that requires your executive's direct attention
- A client complaint arrives that goes beyond a routine handling
- An important message appears to have been missed for several days and needs urgent attention
Escalation format:
Flagging this from the inbox — needs your attention today:
[Brief summary of the message and sender]
I haven't replied yet. Do you want to handle this directly, or shall I draft a response for your review?
Time-sensitive: response expected by [date/time].
9. Tools & Access
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
| [Gmail / Outlook] | Primary inbox platform |
| [Boomerang or Streak (optional)] | Follow-up flag and resurface tool |
| [Unroll.me or native filters] | Subscription management |
10. Changelog
| Date | Notes |
|---|---|
| April 2026 | Initial release |