Email Management
& Automation
Module 03 taught you to write better emails. This course teaches you to manage them. Inbox triage, thread summarisation, automated follow-ups, and a daily system you actually control.
You'll walk away with
Requires Microsoft 365 Copilot licence
The Email Problem
And why willpower isn't the fix
The average professional receives 121 emails per day. Managers and coordinators often see 200+. Reading and responding to email consumes 28% of the average workweek. This isn't a discipline problem - it's a volume problem.
Module 03 vs Module 11
Module 03 taught you to draft and refine emails faster - the writing side.
Module 11 teaches you to manage the inbound flood - triage, prioritise, summarise, follow up, and automate the repetitive patterns.
What Copilot can do with your inbox
Summarise threads
Surface priorities
Extract actions
Draft batch responses
Track follow-ups
Trigger automations
The 15-minute promise
By the end of this course, you'll have a daily routine that takes 15 minutes and covers everything. We'll build it piece by piece across the next 7 cards.
Check your understanding
What's the key difference between this course (Module 11) and Copilot for Email & Writing (Module 03)?
Correct.
Module 03 helps you write better emails faster. Module 11 helps you manage the flood of incoming email, track follow-ups, and automate repetitive patterns. They're complementary, not redundant.
Inbox Triage
Surface what matters in minutes
Emergency departments don't treat patients in arrival order. They triage by urgency. Your inbox needs the same approach. Copilot is your triage nurse.
Summarise my unread emails from the last 24 hours. Group them into: (a) Requires my action today, (b) Requires my response but not urgent, (c) FYI only - no action needed, (d) Can be deleted or archived. For each email in group (a), summarise what's needed in one sentence.
Priority surfacing
Are there any emails from [my manager / specific person / specific project] that I haven't responded to? What do they need?
Meeting prep triage
I have a meeting with [person/team] at [time]. Show me all recent email threads with them and summarise any unresolved items.
Return from leave
Summarise everything that arrived in my inbox while I was away from [date] to [date]. Highlight: decisions made, actions assigned to me, deadlines I need to know about, and anything marked urgent.
Thread Summarisation
Extract the signal from the noise
A 30+ reply email chain contains maybe 3 actual decisions, 2 action items, and 1 deadline change. The rest is discussion, clarification, and reply-all noise. Finding the signal takes 15 - 20 minutes of reading. Copilot does it in seconds.
Summarise this email thread. Include: (a) The original request, (b) Key decisions made, (c) Action items with who's responsible, (d) Current status - is this resolved or still open?
Decision extraction
List every decision made in this thread, who made it, and when. Flag any decisions that were later reversed or contradicted.
Action item mining
Extract all action items from this thread. For each: what needs to be done, who committed to doing it, and what deadline was mentioned (if any). Highlight any items assigned to me.
Check your understanding
You have a 35-reply email thread about a budget approval. Your manager asks "what was decided?" Which Copilot prompt is most effective?
Correct.
Specific prompts produce specific outputs. Asking for decisions, owners, dates, and reversals gives you exactly what your manager needs. "Summarise this thread" would give a general overview that might bury the decision in a paragraph.
Batch Responses & Templates
Handle recurring emails at scale
Approval requests. Meeting scheduling. Status updates. Information requests. If you write the same type of response 5+ times per week, it's a template candidate.
I frequently receive emails requesting [type of request]. Draft 3 response templates: (a) Approved/agreed - with confirmation details, (b) Need more information - with specific questions to ask, (c) Declined/redirected - with a professional alternative suggestion. Match my writing style: [brief description or paste a sample].
Quick acknowledge batch
Draft brief acknowledgement responses for these 5 FYI emails. Each should: thank the sender, confirm I've noted the information, and ask one relevant follow-up question where appropriate. Keep each under 3 sentences.
The human touch
Copilot drafts the structure. You add the personal touch - a specific reference to their project, a genuine comment, a relevant follow-up. Templated efficiency with human warmth.
Check your understanding
You sent an important email to a vendor 7 days ago with no reply. What should you do first?
Correct.
Systematic follow-up beats reactive escalation. Using Copilot to check all pending responses ensures you catch everything that's overdue, not just this one email.
Follow-Up Tracking
Never lose track of a sent email again
You sent an important email 5 days ago. No response. Did they see it? Should you follow up? You can't remember which emails are waiting because you've sent 200 since then.
Show me emails I sent in the last 2 weeks that haven't received a reply. For each, show: who I sent it to, the subject, when I sent it, and a one-line summary of what I asked for.
Follow-up draft generation
For each unanswered email older than 5 business days, draft a polite follow-up. Reference the original email, restate what I need, and suggest a deadline. Professional tone - firm but not aggressive.
Commitment tracking
Scan my sent emails from this week. List every commitment I made - anything where I said I would do something, send something, or follow up on something. Include: what I committed to, who I committed to, and any deadline I mentioned.
Weekly accountability review
Every Friday: "Compare my commitments from last week's sent emails with any follow-through evidence in this week's sent emails. Which commitments have I fulfilled? Which are still outstanding?" This single prompt replaces an hour of manual tracking.
Email Automation
Power Automate + Copilot, no code required
Some email tasks happen every single week with predictable triggers and responses. These don't need you. They need a workflow that runs automatically while you focus on work that requires judgement.
Three starter automations
Attachment Saver
Automatically saves attachments from specific senders to a designated OneDrive folder.
When I receive an email from [sender/domain] with an attachment, save the attachment to [OneDrive/SharePoint folder] with the original filename.
Follow-Up Reminder
Flags emails you sent that haven't received a reply within 3 days.
When I send an email to [anyone/specific person], if no reply is received within 3 business days, send me a reminder with the original email subject.
Weekly Digest
Compiles emails from key stakeholders into a single summary every Friday.
Every Friday at 3pm, compile all emails from [sender list/domain] received this week into a single summary email sent to me.
When NOT to automate
Anything requiring judgement, anything politically sensitive, anything where the wrong auto-response could damage a relationship. Automate the mechanical. Keep the human for the relational.
Check your understanding
Which of these email tasks should NOT be automated?
Correct.
Sensitive stakeholder communications require human judgement, empathy, and political awareness. Automated responses to a board member's complaint could cause serious reputational damage. Mechanical tasks are ideal automation candidates.
The 15-Minute Daily System
Your complete morning email routine
15 minutes. 4 phases. Every morning. Do this before you open a single email manually.
Phase 1: Triage
Run the morning triage prompt from Card 2. Scan the priority groupings. Identify the 3 - 5 emails that actually need you today.
Phase 2: Summarise
For long threads in the priority group, run the summarisation prompts from Card 3. Extract decisions and actions. Don't read the full threads.
Phase 3: Respond
Handle the priority emails. Use batch templates from Card 4 for recurring types. For unique responses, draft with Copilot and personalise.
Phase 4: Track
Run the follow-up check from Card 5. Draft follow-ups for anything overdue. Check your commitment list.
Then close your inbox
Seriously. Set two more email check-in windows during the day (after lunch, before end of day). Between those windows, inbox is closed. Notifications off. Deep work happens.
Weekly version (Friday, 30 min)
Run the weekly accountability review. Clear your follow-up queue. Set up any new automations for patterns you noticed during the week.
Check your understanding
The 15-minute daily email system has 4 phases. What's the correct order?
Correct.
Triage first (identify priorities), then Summarise (understand important threads), then Respond (handle what needs action), then Track (check follow-ups and commitments). This sequence ensures you address the right emails first.
Your Prompt Library
25 ready-to-use prompts, organised by workflow
Every prompt from this course, refined for copy-paste use. Organised into 5 categories with [placeholders] for your specific context. Save your customised versions in a OneNote page or Word doc for quick access.
01. Morning Triage
Group unread into action/response/FYI/archive
02. Return from Leave
Catch-up summary with decisions and deadlines
03. Priority Surface
Check for unanswered emails from key people
04. Meeting Prep
Summarise threads with upcoming meeting attendees
05. End-of-Day Check
Find emails expecting same-day replies
06. Thread Summary
Original request, decisions, actions, status
07. Decision Extraction
Every decision with owner, date, reversals
08. Action Mining
Tasks, owners, deadlines from thread
09. Change Tracking
What changed from start to current position
10. Stakeholder Summary
3-sentence briefing for forwarding
11. Batch Approval
Approve or request more info for multiple requests
12. Batch Scheduling
Check calendar, confirm or suggest alternatives
13. Quick Acknowledge
Brief thanks + noted + follow-up question
14. Information Request
Provide data with offer for more detail
15. Redirect/Decline
Polite decline with alternative suggestion
16. Pending Responses
Sent emails with no reply in last 2 weeks
17. Follow-Up Drafts
Polite chasers for overdue responses
18. Commitment Tracker
Everything you promised this week
19. Weekly Accountability
Commitments vs follow-through audit
20. Overdue Escalation
Firmer follow-up for long-overdue items
21. Attachment Saver
Auto-save attachments to OneDrive
22. Follow-Up Reminder
Alert when sent email gets no reply
23. Weekly Digest
Compile stakeholder emails into summary
24. Task Creator
Flagged email becomes a To Do task
25. Channel Forwarder
Keyword emails forwarded to Teams
Your commitment
Which workflow will you start with tomorrow morning?
Course complete
You have a system now. 200 emails. 15 minutes. Nothing missed. The difference is doing it tomorrow morning.
What you've learned
Built by Nic Gallardo | nicgallardo.com | Updated March 2026