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Get through hundreds of emails on your first day back from leave
Two weeks off and 400 unread emails. Get three Gmail searches that pull out what matters first, so you can archive the rest with a clear conscience.
The prompt · ChatGPT
Help me clear my inbox on my first day back from leave. Dates I was away: [from and to] People who matter most: [e.g. my manager, two key clients, my team; with their email addresses] Topics or projects to catch first: [e.g. a project name, "invoice", "deadline"] Emails I can usually ignore: [e.g. newsletters, system alerts] Ask me up to 3 short questions first if anything important is missing. Wait for my answers. Then: 1. Search 1: unread emails from the people who matter most, during my leave, using from:, is:unread, after: and before: (dates as YYYY/MM/DD). 2. Search 2: unread emails mentioning my key projects or topics. 3. Search 3: the things I can ignore, so I can select and archive them. 4. A plan for whatever's left: what to skim and when. 5. A short "I'm back, catching up" message for my team. Only use what I've told you, leave blanks for anything I haven't given, and don't invent facts. UK English. Stay in this ChatGPT chat. Do not turn on apps or connectors, and do not use memory from another chat.
A short example
Fill the blanks, then paste. from and to: a short note you already have. e.g. my manager, two key clients, my team; with their email addresses: a short note you already have. Leave the rest of the prompt as written.
You type your leave dates and the people and topics that matter most.
The assistant asks what usually lands in your inbox that you can safely ignore.
You get three searches to run in order, a plan for the rest and a short catch-up message.
What happens
Use ChatGPT to get through hundreds of emails on your first day back from leave
Two weeks off and 400 unread emails. Get three Gmail searches that pull out what matters first, so you can archive the rest with a clear conscience.
Tools
Paste the prompt, fill the blanks, copy the draft.
- ChatGPT — required. Drafts from the text you paste. Nothing is sent.
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