intellectronica Classify Message Importance
Determine whether the current message is important or not important.
Classify as important when
- it affects customers, revenue, legal terms, security, compliance, finance, or leadership decisions
- it concerns committed deliverables, executive communication, planning, or budgeting
- it affects public-facing claims, press releases, or external communications about compliance, security, or encryption
- the outcome has clear downstream consequences beyond personal convenience
- the message would merit keeping a permanent PDF record
Classify as not important when
- it is social, optional, or low-stakes
- it concerns minor office logistics with limited business impact
- a missed response would be mildly inconvenient rather than materially costly
Decision rule
Importance is about consequence, not speed. A message can be urgent without being important, and important without being urgent.