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Ask Flex / Drowning in emails

Ask Flex

How do you catch up on work emails?

"How do I catch up on work emails? I have 2,000 unread and I'm scared to look."You asked Google. Flex answered.
Flex the robot in a snorkel and mask, chest-deep in a flood of envelopes, holding one up with a thumbs up, with little Clawd peeking out of the pile
Flex's short answer

Draw a line at two weeks, move everything older into one folder called Old, and only work the recent pile. Anything in Old that still matters will come back around, and you can search for it when it does.

✱ Flex's tips

Draw a line.

1

Move the old pile

Everything past two weeks goes in one folder. Nothing gets deleted.

2

Sort what's left

Waiting on you, just so you know, and can wait.

3

Answer the waiting first

Oldest first. Short replies.

4

Say where you're caught up to

"If I missed yours, please send it again."

Try this in your own Claude or ChatGPT

I'm behind on work email. Here's what came in over the last two weeks, with names and private details left out: [for each email, a few words on what it asks for, who sent it, like boss, coworker, or customer, and whether I already answered]. Sort them into waiting on me, just so I know, and can wait. If you can't tell where one goes, ask me. Then draft a short note I can send once I've worked through them, saying I've gone through my email back to [date] and asking people to resend anything I missed.

Before you paste work stuff into any AI, check what your company allows.
Free tool

Email to English

Tap an office email phrase. See what it really means, and a calmer way to say it.

Translate one
Flex the robot in a snorkel and mask, chest-deep in a flood of envelopes, holding one up with a thumbs up, with little Clawd peeking out of the pile
Inside the Lab

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✱ What people ask
What do I do when I'm drowning in work emails?

Stop reading from the top. Move the old pile out of sight, then sort the recent ones by who's waiting.

How do I keep up with work emails?

Sort before you read, and check at two set times. Flex has a page on it.

Why am I afraid to open emails?

Because an unopened email can say anything. Flex has a page on it.

✱ More from this pile: Drowning in emails
From Nikki's blogFlex tells you how. Nikki tells you what it felt like. Read it on Clawd and Me. Read it →

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