Email Classification

Overview

Systematic approach to email categorization for triage commands. Classifies emails by urgency, required action, and project/client association.

Classification Dimensions

1. Urgency Level

Level	Criteria	Response Window
Immediate	Explicit deadline within 24h, "urgent" language, escalation	Same day
Important	Deadline within week, significant decision needed, client request	This week
Routine	FYI, newsletters, low-stakes items	When convenient

2. Action Type

Type	Description	Examples
Response Required	Needs reply or answer	Question asked, approval requested
Action Required	Needs work beyond reply	Document review, task assignment
Decision Required	Choice needs to be made	Option selection, go/no-go
FYI	Informational only	Status updates, newsletters
Delegate	Someone else should handle	Wrong recipient, team task

3. Sender Priority

Priority	Criteria
Critical	Direct manager, key clients, executives
High	Team members, project stakeholders
Normal	Colleagues, regular contacts
Low	External vendors, newsletters, automated

Urgency Detection Patterns

Immediate Indicators

Explicit urgency keywords:

• "urgent", "ASAP", "immediately"
• "by end of day", "by COB"
• "deadline is today"
• "critical", "time-sensitive"

Contextual urgency:

• Reply-all chains with escalation
• Multiple follow-ups on same thread
• Meeting in next 2 hours mentioned
• System alerts or failures

Important Indicators

Deadline patterns:

• "by Friday", "by end of week"
• "need by [date within 7 days]"
• "before the meeting on [date]"

Significance patterns:

• "decision needed"
• "approval required"
• "please review"
• Client name + request
• Budget/contract/legal mentions

Routine Indicators

• Newsletter format
• "FYI", "for your information"
• CC'd (not directly addressed)
• Automated notifications
• No explicit ask or deadline

Client/Project Detection

From Email Tags

If emails are tagged (e.g., #email-projectname):

#email-projecta → Project A
#email-clientb → Client B

From Email Content

Subject line patterns:

• "[ProjectName]" or "RE: [ProjectName]"
• "Project Alpha:" prefix
• Standard project code references

Body patterns:

• Project name mentions
• Client name references
• Contract/PO numbers

Sender domain:

• @clientdomain.com → Client association
• Internal → Check subject/body

Classification Algorithm

1. URGENCY ASSESSMENT
   IF contains immediate indicators → IMMEDIATE
   ELSE IF contains important indicators → IMPORTANT
   ELSE → ROUTINE

2. ACTION DETERMINATION
   IF contains question mark + "you" → RESPONSE REQUIRED
   IF contains "review", "approve", "sign" → ACTION REQUIRED
   IF contains "decide", "choose", "option" → DECISION REQUIRED
   IF contains "FYI", "informing you" → FYI
   IF addressed to someone else → DELEGATE

3. SENDER PRIORITY
   IF sender in critical list → CRITICAL
   IF sender in team/stakeholder list → HIGH
   ELSE IF internal domain → NORMAL
   ELSE → LOW

4. FINAL PRIORITY = URGENCY × SENDER PRIORITY
   IMMEDIATE + CRITICAL = TOP (handle now)
   IMMEDIATE + HIGH/NORMAL = URGENT
   IMPORTANT + CRITICAL = URGENT
   IMPORTANT + HIGH = HIGH
   Everything else = NORMAL/LOW

Output Classification

For each email, classification should include:

email:
  subject: "RE: Project Alpha deliverable"
  from: "manager@company.com"
  received: "2025-01-22T09:30:00"

  classification:
    urgency: immediate | important | routine
    action: response | action | decision | fyi | delegate
    sender_priority: critical | high | normal | low
    final_priority: top | urgent | high | normal | low

  context:
    project: "Project Alpha"
    deadline: "2025-01-22" # if detected
    key_ask: "Need approval on budget" # extracted action

  recommendation:
    action: "Reply with approval decision"
    timing: "Within 2 hours"

Triage Output Format

Group emails by final priority, then by project:

🔴 IMMEDIATE ACTION (handle now)

  [Project Alpha]
  ▸ RE: Budget approval needed - Manager
    Action: Decision required by EOD

🟡 IMPORTANT (this week)

  [Project Alpha]
  ▸ Deliverable review - Client
    Action: Review and respond by Friday

  [Project Beta]
  ▸ Status update request - Stakeholder
    Action: Send progress summary

🟢 ROUTINE (when convenient)

  [General]
  ▸ Weekly newsletter - HR
    Action: FYI only

Integration Notes

With /email-triage Command

The command should:

1. Scan emails within configured window
2. Apply classification algorithm
3. Group by priority and project
4. Output triage dashboard

With Task Creation

High-priority emails with action/decision required may warrant TaskNote creation:

• URGENT + ACTION → Consider immediate TaskNote
• HIGH + DEADLINE → Schedule TaskNote with due date

With /track Command

/track can reference email classifications when:

• Detecting commitments (response sent = potential commitment)
• Identifying dependencies (waiting for response)
• Flagging overdue items (urgent email not addressed)