Email Backlog Triage Prompt: Draft, Never Send

Start here

The complete prompt is appended below as readme_en. Copy it into an ordinary AI chat that accepts text, then paste your messages when the assistant asks for them.

Input to paste: the prompt itself, plus the text of each message wrapped in markers, e.g. [MESSAGE 1 START] ... [MESSAGE 1 END]. Include subject line, sender role, date received and the full relevant body. Mention any deadline, requested action, attachment or thread you know exists but did not paste.

Where to paste: any general chat assistant with a text box. No terminal, account setup or API work is involved.

How to check the output: confirm each item sits in one of the four bands (Act today, Act this week, Reply optional, Not mine / unclear); every band quotes the exact words from your pasted text; each "Act today" item shows its supporting sentence; drafts are labelled as drafts; and no number, date or promise appears that you did not supply. If a band has no quoted support, treat it as wrong and ask for a correction.

Introduction

An overflowing inbox is mostly a sorting problem. This prompt does the sorting on text you paste, and stops there. It cannot log in, read a mailbox, open attachments, send email, book meetings or file anything. You keep every action: send, edit, ignore or escalate.

Prerequisites and permissions

• A chat assistant that accepts pasted text.
• The message text itself, plus whatever context you are willing to share.
• The prompt's own boundary is the permission limit: it prepares wording for review only, and is told to refuse direct action requests and explain that you must act in your own email client.
• Privacy: pasting real messages sends that content to whichever service you use. Remove or mask names, order numbers, account details and anything you would not share with that provider.

Limitations

• Priority bands rest only on words in the text. Nothing is inferred from tone, hierarchy or urgency, and a same-day date is not treated as within 24 hours unless you say so.
• Missing facts stay missing: no deadline is written as 'none stated' rather than guessed.
• Dates in unfamiliar formats are quoted and flagged rather than resolved.
• Draft replies are starting text, not agreed wording. Read every one before you send it.

Usage notes

A fictional example from the prompt: a colleague asks, 'Can you send the revised figures by Thursday so I can lock the deck?', and a newsletter announces an update with no request. The colleague message belongs in Act this week, or Act today only if Thursday is within 24 hours and you say so, listing deadline Thursday and missing information about which files count as revised. The newsletter belongs in Reply optional with action 'none stated'. Source reviewed; runtime not tested.

FAQ

Does it send or schedule anything? No. It only arranges text you paste and prepares draft wording. You send, edit or ignore each item yourself.

What if a message is ambiguous? It records the ambiguity in the Missing information field instead of choosing an interpretation, and it never fills a gap with an assumption.

Sources and thanks

Original TokRepo prompt, published under CC BY 4.0. Reference context: ChatGPT release notes, reviewed 2026-10-04. Source reviewed; runtime not tested.

Complete reusable prompt

You are helping me triage an email backlog. I will paste the text of several messages. Your job is to prepare a review-ready triage brief, not to send, schedule or act on anything.

INPUT I WILL PROVIDE Paste each message between clear markers so we both know where one ends and the next begins, for example: [MESSAGE 1 START] ... [MESSAGE 1 END] Include any subject line, sender role (not necessarily full name), date received, and the full relevant body text. Tell me any deadline, requested action, attachment or thread you know exists but did not paste.

WHAT TO DO

1. Read every message and extract only what is actually written. Do not guess at tone, intent, hierarchy or urgency beyond the text.
2. Assign each message one priority band:
   • Act today: explicit deadline within 24 hours or a blocker for someone else.
   • Act this week: a stated need or question with no immediate date.
   • Reply optional: informational, FYI, or no action requested.
   • Not mine / unclear: not addressed to me, wrong recipient, or no identifiable request.
3. For each message list: sender role, one-sentence factual summary, explicit deadline (or 'none stated'), requested action (or 'none stated'), and missing information I would need before replying.
4. For the top messages only, write a short draft reply in my voice. Keep it factual, plainly written, and short. Mark every draft clearly as a draft. Do not include a greeting I did not supply, do not promise dates, money or commitments, and do not invent facts.
5. End with a plain checklist of what I must decide or verify before anything is sent.

OUTPUT FORMAT

Triage Brief

Act today

Act this week

Reply optional

Not mine / unclear

Draft replies (not sent)

My decisions before sending

Each item must carry its priority band and the exact words from the message that justify it.

UNCERTAINTY AND MISSING INPUT If a message is ambiguous, say so in the Missing information field instead of choosing an interpretation. If no deadline is stated, write 'none stated'. If a date format is unclear, quote it and flag it. Never fill a gap with a plausible assumption.

REVIEW CHECKS BEFORE USING THIS

• Every priority band must be justified by words actually in the pasted text.
• No draft may contain a fact, number, date or promise that was not in a pasted message or in my instructions to you.
• Each 'Act today' item must show its exact supporting sentence; if none exists, move it down a band.
• Draft replies must be labelled as drafts and must not read as if already accepted or sent.
• Confirm the brief does not tell me to contact anyone, click anything, or make a payment.

BOUNDARIES You cannot log in, read my mailbox, open attachments, send email, book meetings or file anything. You are only arranging text I paste and preparing draft wording for my review. I will send, edit, ignore or escalate each item myself. If asked to act directly, refuse and explain that I must do it in my own email client.

FICTIONAL EXAMPLE [SETUP] Pasted two messages: one from a colleague asks 'Can you send the revised figures by Thursday so I can lock the deck?', and one newsletter announces a product update with no request. [EXPECTED SHAPE] The colleague message lands in 'Act this week' or 'Act today' only if Thursday falls within 24 hours and I say so; it lists deadline Thursday, action 'send revised figures', missing information 'which files count as revised'. The newsletter lands in 'Reply optional' with action 'none stated'. A short draft reply says the figures are coming, without inventing a number, and is marked 'DRAFT - not sent'. The final checklist asks me to confirm the file set and the real send time.

PASS / FAIL CHECKS

• Pass if the newsletter is not promoted to Act today.
• Pass if the draft reply contains no invented figure.
• Fail if any band lacks quoted support.
• Fail if the brief claims an email was sent, a meeting booked or a task completed.

Start by asking me to paste the messages, then produce the brief.

References and reuse

• ChatGPT release notes · Reviewed 2026-10-04

Original TokRepo prompt · CC BY 4.0. Reference documents retain their own rights.