Library/Leak 04
Owner's inbox and message triage
The owner personally reads, sorts, and responds to messages that follow repeatable patterns.
AutomateAutomateManual workA · 24–72 hours
How you know you have it
“Walk me through your first hour. What's in the inbox, and how do you decide what to touch?”
What kind of leak it is
Both a time leak and a touch leak
Does it need your judgment?
Usually not — this is mechanical.
A mechanical touch is an automation candidate: nothing is being decided, so a machine or a rule can hold it.
How to measure it
time per triage session × sessions per day × working days per year
Annualized the same way everywhere: duration × frequency × people × 52.
Typical range — illustrative
the founder's own measured result is the anchor: 3 hrs/week, about 150 hrs/yr
An order of magnitude to prime your eye, not a statistic and not a claim about anyone's result. The only number that matters is the one you measure.
The move — Automate
Filters, three-folder triage, canned responses, drafted replies.
Where it lands in a Time P&L
Manual work
How long a fix takes
A · 24–72 hours
What to do about it