The 20-Minute Inbox

What this is for

You've got 40 unread emails that matter and 200 that don't, a reply you've been avoiding for a week, and someone who's ignored you twice. This is the routine for getting to zero without writing everything from scratch or sounding like a form letter.

Before you start

• Set up your voice profile once (step 4 below) — every other prompt here reuses it.
• Have your inbox open in a state where you can copy subject lines and short excerpts — you don't need to paste full email chains, just enough for the AI to sort them.

The four prompts

1. Triage a backlog into act / delegate / archive / decline — either model.

ROLE: You are an executive assistant triaging my inbox backlog.
CONTEXT: Below is a list of subject lines and one-line summaries from my
unread emails.
EMAILS:
[PASTE — e.g.
"1. Re: Q3 budget approval — finance needs my sign-off by Friday
2. Newsletter: 5 AI tools you need
3. Can you speak at our conference in October — from someone I don't know
4. Sarah: draft contract review, needs my comments
5. Reminder: expense report overdue"]
CONSTRAINTS: Sort each into exactly one bucket — Act (only I can do
this), Delegate (someone else should own it), Archive (no action
needed), or Decline (needs a no). If an email is ambiguous, put it in
Act and say why, rather than guessing wrong on a decline.
OUTPUT FORMAT: Four headed lists — Act, Delegate, Archive, Decline — with
the email number and a one-line reason under each.

2. Batch-draft replies in your own voice — either model, using your voice profile from step 4.

ROLE: You are drafting email replies in my voice, using the voice profile
below.
CONTEXT: Voice profile: [PASTE YOUR VOICE PROFILE FROM STEP 4]. Here are
the emails needing replies, with what I want each reply to say.
EMAILS AND INTENT:
[PASTE — e.g.
"1. Sarah's contract review — tell her I'll have comments back by
Wednesday, flag section 4 needs legal eyes.
2. Budget approval — approve as-is, no changes.
3. Vendor asking for a call — decline, we're not evaluating new vendors
this quarter."]
CONSTRAINTS: Match the voice profile's tone and length, not a generic
"professional email" tone. Keep each reply to what the intent line
actually says — do not add pleasantries or hedging the voice profile
doesn't use.
OUTPUT FORMAT: One drafted reply per email, ready to paste, no
placeholder brackets left in.

3. Decline politely without burning the relationship — either model.

ROLE: You are helping me decline a request in a way that's warm but
clearly a no, using my voice profile.
CONTEXT: Voice profile: [PASTE VOICE PROFILE]. The request: [e.g. "A
former colleague asked me to review their startup's pitch deck and give
detailed feedback — I don't have time this month"]. My relationship with
them: [e.g. "friendly, worked together for 3 years, want to stay on good
terms"].
CONSTRAINTS: Say no in the first two sentences — don't bury it. Give one
honest, brief reason, not an over-explained excuse. Offer one small
alternative only if I'd genuinely follow through on it, otherwise leave
it out.
OUTPUT FORMAT: A single reply, 3-5 sentences, no filler apology
sentences ("I'm so sorry, I feel terrible").

4. Chase a non-responder for the third time without sounding annoyed — either model.

ROLE: You are helping me write a third follow-up to someone who hasn't
responded to my last two emails.
CONTEXT: Voice profile: [PASTE VOICE PROFILE]. Original ask: [e.g.
"Needed their sign-off on the vendor contract"]. First follow-up sent:
[DATE]. Second follow-up sent: [DATE]. I need this resolved by [DEADLINE]
because [REASON, e.g. "the vendor's rate goes up after this week"].
CONSTRAINTS: No passive-aggressive language ("just following up again!",
"per my last email"). State the deadline and consequence plainly. Give
them an easy out — a one-click way to respond (yes/no, or "reply with
just a thumbs up").
OUTPUT FORMAT: One short email, under 80 words, with a clear, low-effort
action requested.

Setting up your voice profile once

Do this once, then reuse it in every prompt above instead of re-explaining your tone each time.

Click path (ChatGPT): Settings → Personalization → Custom Instructions → in "How would you like ChatGPT to respond?" paste your voice profile.

Click path (Claude): Settings → Profile → "Personal preferences" → paste your voice profile. Or, if you use Projects, paste it into that project's custom instructions so it only applies to your inbox project.

Building the profile itself — either model, one-time setup.

ROLE: You are helping me write a voice profile that describes how I
write email, so it can be reused as a standing instruction.
CONTEXT: Below are 3-5 real emails I've sent that sound like me.
MY EMAILS: [PASTE 3-5 REAL EMAILS, VARIED IN TOPIC]
CONSTRAINTS: Describe sentence length, formality level, how I open and
close emails, and any phrases I overuse or specifically avoid. Do not
describe generic "professional" traits — describe what's actually
distinct about these samples.
OUTPUT FORMAT: A profile of 5-8 bullet points I can paste into a custom
instructions field.

Where this goes wrong

• You skip the voice profile and reuse generic drafts. They read like everyone else's AI email — recipients notice. Spend the ten minutes once; it pays back on every reply after.
• You let the triage prompt decide "decline" on something political. Sensitive people-management or client emails deserve your own judgment. Use the triage output as a sort, not a decision.
• You send batch-drafted replies unread. These are fast first drafts. Skim each one before sending — the AI doesn't know if a fact in the email chain changed since you copied it in.

The 2-minute version

Build your voice profile once and save it in custom instructions. Triage your backlog into the four buckets. Batch-draft the Act pile in your voice. Send declines and chase-ups same day, don't let them age into a fifth email.

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