Prioritizing high-value inbox tasks

I’m not naturally productive. Yet, I complete 99% of my tasks every single day. Here’s the matrix that helps me (& my clients too) do more in less time: I coach high-performing professionals every day. They’re smart, ambitious, and committed. But they’re also overwhelmed. Not because they’re lazy, unproductive, or disorganized. Because their days are full of urgent but unimportant tasks. One framework I often share is the Eisenhower Matrix. It comes from someone who lived one of the most productive lives in modern history. Dwight Eisenhower led invasions in WWII. He served as the U.S. president. He helped launch NASA, DARPA, and the Interstate Highway System. He also managed to paint, golf, and sleep. He used a framework to separate his time into 4 boxes: Quadrant 1: Urgent + important Client escalations, tight deadlines, or a critical hire falling through. Quadrant 2: Not urgent, but important Strategic planning, building a new product, or mentoring your team. Quadrant 3: Urgent, but not important Status meetings, Slack notifications, chasing updates you shouldn't own. Quadrant 4: Not urgent, Not important Fixing slides no one reads, inbox zero obsession, or rechecking what’s already done. Now,  Q1 tasks need to be done. Q2 tasks need to be scheduled. Q3 tasks need to be delegated. Q4 tasks need to be deleted. If you're feeling stretched thin, try this: 📌Pull up your calendar 📌Label each block with a quadrant 📌Ask: What can I let go of? You don’t need more hours in the day. You need space for work that matters. Which quadrant do you spend the most time in? #productivity #leadershipdevelopment #efficiency

I receive 70+ emails daily and have daily back-to-back meetings. Here's how I use AI prompts to manage my hectic schedule (in order of usage): - Email & Document Summarization: "Summarize this [email/document] for a C-suite audience. Focus on key action items and business implications. Use bullet points for the main takeaways. Limit to [500 - adjust for your preferred level of detail] words." - Meeting Prep: "Act as a business strategist. I have a meeting about [topic] with [attendees]. Key objectives are [list objectives]. Analyze available data: [insert data]. Suggest three talking points and potential questions to ask." - Meeting Prioritization: "Act as an executive assistant. Here's my meeting schedule for the week: [list meetings - or upload a screenshot of your calendar]. Categorise these by urgency and importance using the Eisenhower Matrix. Highlight the top 3 most critical meetings and why." - Task Prioritization: "Act as a project manager. Here's my task list for the week: [list tasks]. Using the Eisenhower Matrix, categorise these tasks. Suggest a daily schedule, estimating time for each task. Indicate which could be delegated." - Email Drafting: "Act as a senior communications specialist. Draft an email to [recipient] about [topic]. Use a [tone] tone. Include: [key points]. Keep it under [word count] and end with a clear call-to-action." These AI prompts have revolutionized my workflow, helping me stay focused on high-value tasks. WARNING - I have seen the AI hallucinate (ie. make stuff up), so ALWAYS check any output generated by an AI. An AI is not going to replace you (right now), but you will be replaced if you simply copy & paste AI output. What AI prompts do you use to boost productivity?

The more successful your executive and company become, the more everyone will want a piece of them. Investors, partners, media, employees, potential employees, board members… the requests will flood in nonstop. And guess who has to manage the chaos? 🫵 YOU (*speaking to my Chief of Staff and EA community 🤗) At some point, it gets overwhelming. What’s urgent? What’s worth their time? What’s irrelevant? ➡️ Your job is to filter the signal from the noise. ⬅️ Here’s how to categorize incoming requests: 1️⃣ 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 These must be escalated immediately. No hesitation. These impact strategy, revenue, or reputation in a major way. ✅ Escalate immediately. No delays. 2️⃣ 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 Not urgent, but worth serious consideration. These could be game-changing partnerships, investments, or strategic moves. ✅ Prioritize these by setting up next steps. 3️⃣ 𝗨𝗻𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 Someone promising reaches out with an intriguing request, but the ROI isn’t immediately clear. ✅ Gather more details to assess alignment, potential impact, and the effort required before committing. 4️⃣ 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲-𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 These take energy but add no real value. Some sound exciting but don’t align with company priorities. Others just drain bandwidth. ✅ Eliminate distractions—say no quickly and keep things moving. Your executive’s time is their most valuable asset. Protect it wisely. What’s your go-to strategy for filtering high-value requests? Share in the comments to help others 🤗

How I Hit Inbox Zero Every Morning For years, my inbox controlled me. Unread messages piled up, important things got buried, and I constantly felt like I was playing catch-up. Then I built a system. Simple, repeatable, and impossible to ignore. Now, every single morning, I start with inbox zero. Here’s how it works: Step 1: Clear the inbox daily - Junk? Deleted. - Takes under 10 seconds? Replied to on the spot. - Takes longer? Turn it into a task → archive the email. The key is never letting an email linger. It either gets handled or moved. Step 2: Centralize all tasks - The real trick isn’t email—it’s where those “longer than 10 seconds” items go. - This was the real insight I learned from my friend Yotam Cohen. He explained that if your tasks are scattered—some in email, some in WhatsApp, some in random notes—you’ll always feel behind. - I use Notion. He used Trello. Others use Asana, Todoist—doesn’t matter. What matters is that everything lives in one place: Emails, WhatsApps, Calls, Random notes If it needs to be done, it goes in the system. From there, I prioritize: urgent vs. important. Step 3: Build small habits These little moves keep the system alive: - Delete verification code emails right after using them. - Unsubscribe from junk whenever possible (Gmail makes this super easy). - Never tell yourself, “I’ll deal with this later.” Later = never. The result? Inbox zero. Every morning. No clutter. No missed follow-ups. Nothing slipping through the cracks. It’s not about the tool—it’s about the discipline. Most people let email pile up until it’s overwhelming. This flips the script. And honestly—it’s so simple I don’t get why more people don’t do it.

Ever sit down at your desk with a plan - and then lose the first 3 hours to email? Let me walk you through what's really happening: Every morning, executives start their day with clear intentions and ambitious goals. Then it happens: One "urgent" email pops up, demanding immediate attention. Before you know it, you're: • Playing catch-up with your original schedule • Getting pulled into unnecessary threads • Responding to non-critical messages • Losing focus on your actual priorities Here's what I've learned from working with high-performing leaders: The most successful executives never let their inbox control their morning. Instead, they have a system that looks like this: 1. Emails are pre-sorted by priority 2. Non-urgent matters are delegated 3. Only true emergencies reach their attention 4. Everything else is summarized in a daily brief When you have this structure in place: → Your time is protected → Your energy is preserved → Your focus stays on strategic work → Your morning belongs to your priorities But here's what most executives don't realize: This level of organization isn't about having better willpower or time management skills. It's about having the right support system in place. That's where an Executive VA becomes invaluable: • We prepare your daily email summary • We filter the urgent from the important • We manage your inbox proactively • We handle routine correspondence The result? You start each day exactly as you planned - focused on your priorities, not someone else's urgency. Let's connect and explore how I can help you reclaim your time. Your priorities are waiting.