Using AI to triage unread emails after time away

Coming back from a few days off work should feel refreshing. Instead, it often means opening your inbox to 200 unread emails and not knowing where to start. In this How I AI episode, we look at how AI can help you get oriented faster by scanning, sorting, and summarising what’s landed while you were away. 

If email is a constant source of friction in your workday, this conversation will help you approach it more strategically. We talk through practical ways to use AI to triage your inbox quickly, catch up on long email threads, and create daily or weekly digests that surface what actually needs your attention. 

We also cover how to use AI to write better replies in your own voice, reflect the communication style of the person you’re replying to, and schedule meetings directly from an email thread using Microsoft Copilot. 

Neo and I discuss: 

• Which AI tools can access your inbox and what that depends on 

• Using AI to summarise unread emails after time away 

• Creating tables that show what matters, what needs action, and what can wait 

• How to generate daily or weekly inbox digests automatically 

• Catching up on long email threads with clients, projects, or teams 

• Using sent items to identify emails you still need to respond to 

• Writing better replies by analysing your own writing style 

• Reflecting someone else’s communication style to get better responses 

• Scheduling meetings directly from email threads using Microsoft Copilot 

Connect with Neo Aplin on LinkedIn and via inventium.ai, where he leads Inventium’s AI training and upskilling work with organisations and teams. 

My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/ 

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If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe 

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes. 

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au 

Credits: 
Host: Amantha Imber 
Sound Engineer: Martin Imber 

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