Checked email 50 times yesterday. Still missed an important one.
That is when I knew something had to change.
Important meeting invite buried under 12 promotional emails. Did not see it until 6pm. Meeting was at 2pm. Embarrassing does not even cover it.
MY CHALLENGE:
Drowning in 50 emails daily. Only 5 actually matter. The rest? Newsletters I never read. Promotions I never click. Automated notifications I never need.
But which 5 are important? That is the problem. Reading through all 50 to find them takes FOREVER.
MY SOLUTION:
Built a 4-node workflow in 35 minutes.
Node 1 – Email Watcher: Monitors inbox constantly for new arrivals.
Node 2 – Smart Filter: Scans sender, subject, and content. Detects urgent keywords like MEETING, DEADLINE, URGENT, ACTION REQUIRED.
Node 3 – Priority Marker: Important emails get red flag and move to Priority folder. Everything else goes to Review Later folder.
Node 4 – Alert System: Phone notification ONLY for priority emails. No more notification overload.
THE MAGIC MOMENT:
First priority email arrived. Phone buzzed. Opened inbox. There it was. Red flagged. Top of Priority folder. Responded in 3 minutes.
The other 47 emails that day? Did not even see them until afternoon. Did not need to.
WHAT I LEARNED:
Only 8 out of 50 emails actually need immediate attention. The workflow figured this out on day one.
Keywords are surprisingly accurate. Catches meeting requests, project deadlines, urgent questions. Missed exactly ZERO important emails so far.
Silence is golden. Not getting pinged for every newsletter is life changing. When phone buzzes now, I know it actually matters.
THE TRANSFORMATION:
BEFORE automation:
– Checked email 50 times daily
– Missed 1-2 important emails weekly
– Response time: 4 hours average
– Stress level: Constantly anxious
AFTER automation:
– Check email 3 times daily
– Missed emails: ZERO this week
– Response time: 15 minutes for priority
– Stress level: Actually relaxed now
THIS WEEK: 8 priority emails. Responded to all within 30 minutes. 42 regular emails reviewed once in afternoon. Nothing important slipped through.
About the Author
