Drowning in Your Inbox?
Here's Your AI Liferaft.
You have just returned from two weeks holiday. You open your inbox, and it's a mountain of unread messages. In the past you would have archived them all while thinking to yourself, “if it’s that urgent they can come and tell me”, or was that just me? However, after numerous reprimands from your boss you are unable to do that anymore. Reading every single one feels impossible. You know there are key decisions, urgent requests, and vital updates buried in there, but just getting to them feels like a day's work in itself. The sheer volume of emails and long threads means you miss key information or spend ages trying to find it, causing stress and slowing everything down.
What if there was a way to cut through that noise, to instantly grasp the core of any message, no matter how long the chain?
Cutting Through the Clutter with AI
For years, in both the Royal Air Force and in major corporate environments, I've seen colleagues face the same challenge, an overwhelming flow of information. Today, AI offers a powerful solution.
The key insight is simple; AI excels at identifying and extracting core information from large bodies of text. It's like having a dedicated analyst who can read and summarise hundreds of pages in seconds, focusing only on what truly matters to you. This isn't about replacing your understanding, but about giving you a sharp, clear starting point, freeing you from endless scrolling.
Practical Application - Summarise Any Message
Putting this into action is easier than you might think. You don't need to be a tech wizard. You just need to know how to ask your AI tool the right question.
Here are two simple, actionable steps, along with generic prompts you can use with almost any AI:
1. Get the Main Points: Copy a long email, a document, or even an article. Paste it into your AI tool and use this prompt: “Summarise the key points from the following text, focusing on action items: [Paste text here]."
2. Unpack Email Threads: For those frustratingly long email chains where decisions get lost, try this: “What are the main decisions made in this email thread, and who is responsible for them? [Paste email thread here]."
You'll find that AI quickly extracts the essence, allowing you to react faster and make informed choices. For instance, I recently had a dense project brief that would typically take me an hour to sift through. Using a simple prompt, I had a concise summary with all the deliverables and responsibilities highlighted in under a minute. This saved me crucial time, letting me focus on the strategic planning straight away.
AI Tool Note: I often use Google Gemini or Google's NotebookLM for these tasks due to their powerful text processing. However, you can achieve the exact same results with Copilot, ChatGPT, Grok, or Perplexity using these prompts and processes. The tool you choose is less important than your ability to use it effectively and apply critical thinking to the answers provided.
If you're ready to become proficient in this skill, our "Email Overload Slayer" Prompt Pack is designed for you. This PDF Guide (available on Gumroad) provides 20 detailed, copy-and-paste prompts specifically crafted for summarising, drafting replies, extracting action items, and prioritising emails using any AI chat tool. It's the ultimate guide to taking back control of your inbox.
How much time do you spend just reading emails each day? Share your thoughts below!
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