---
url: /recipes/inbox-flow-for-a-manager.md
description: >-
  Catch every request from your team in one shared list and turn it into
  assigned work once a day.
---

# Run an inbox flow as a manager

This recipe is for a team lead who gets requests from everywhere. Instead of tracking them in
your head, every request lands in one [list](/concepts/hule-model), and once a day you turn
each one into a decision in a [GTD session](/concepts/gtd).

You need a team [folder](/concepts/hierarchy) you can add a list to, and for step 5 a Telegram
account [connected to Hule](/guides/use-the-telegram-bot#connect-the-bot).

::: warning Permissions for the setup
Creating the list needs **Create** for lists, and sharing it needs **Share**: the
**List/Folder manager** and **Admin** sets have both. See
[Permissions and access](/reference/permissions-and-access).
:::

## Requests list and Triage view

* A **Requests** list where your team, and you, drop anything that needs a decision.
* A [GTD view](/concepts/views) on that list, where one session takes you through the requests one at a time.
* Every request ends up in one of four places:
  * delegated to another list;
  * scheduled for you in another list;
  * put off in `Requests` until a later day;
  * closed.

```text
Team (folder, shared with the team)
├── Requests      ← the Inbox list: everyone can add here
├── Product
└── Support
```

## Inbox setup

1. Add a list called `Requests` in your team's folder
   ([Create a list](/guides/organize-folders-and-lists#create-a-list)).
   It appears in the sidebar.

2. In its **Configure** → **Features**, pick the **Teamwork** preset
   ([Turn features on or off](/guides/set-up-a-list#turn-features-on-or-off)).
   Tasks in `Requests` get an assignee field, watchers and time tracking. Do the same for the
   lists you delegate to, such as `Product` and `Support`, so people can be assigned there.

3. Share the list, or the folder it is in, with the team with **Edit** access
   ([Share with a member](/guides/share-a-folder-or-list#share-with-a-member)).
   Members see `Requests` in their sidebar and can add tasks to it with their **Worker** set.

4. Click your name at the bottom of the sidebar, choose **Workspace settings**, and under
   **Me in this workspace** open **GTD**. Pick `Requests` as the **Inbox list**
   ([Inbox list setting](/guides/capture-to-inbox#inbox-list-setting)).
   New tasks you create without choosing a list now land in `Requests`.

   ::: warning List refused?
   "This list can't be your inbox" means you can't create tasks in it: ask for **Edit** access.
   :::

5. From your phone, send the bot a request and tap `Requests` in its reply
   ([Add tasks from Telegram](/guides/add-tasks-from-telegram)):

   ```text
   /new Ask the landlord about the Berlin office tomorrow
   ```

   The task **Ask the landlord about the Berlin office** appears in `Requests`, due tomorrow.

   ::: warning Bot says your account isn't connected?
   Connect it first: [Connect the bot](/guides/use-the-telegram-bot#connect-the-bot).
   :::

6. In the list's menu, choose **New view**, set **Display Mode** to **GTD** and name it `Triage`
   ([GTD view on your Inbox list](/guides/run-a-gtd-session#gtd-view-on-your-inbox-list)).
   The view shows **Start GTD session · 1**, with the number of requests waiting; an empty list
   shows **Inbox zero**.

7. Ask the team to put anything they need from you into `Requests`, one task per request.

## Daily triage session

Pick a fixed time, for example 9:30 after the stand-up, and open `Triage`.

1. Press **Start GTD session**.
   The session shows one request at a time. It skips requests that are put off, closed or that
   you can't change.

2. Answer **Is it actionable?**
   ([Decision path in a session](/guides/run-a-gtd-session#decision-path-in-a-session)).

   * On **Yes, it's actionable**, check the **Desired outcome**: it becomes the task's title, and any steps you
     add become its subtasks. Then pick what happens:

     | Choice | Use it when | What Hule does |
     |---|---|---|
     | **I'll do it now** | It takes under two minutes | Starts a two-minute clock; you close the task when done |
     | **Schedule it and do it myself** | It is yours to do | Assigns it to you and moves it to the list you pick, with dates if you set them |
     | **Delegate it** | Someone else owns the next step | Moves it to the list you pick. Pick the person under **Assign to** and a follow-up date under **When**; both are optional |

   * On **No**, pick what it is:

     | Choice | Use it when | What Hule does |
     |---|---|---|
     | **Someday / maybe** | Not now, not never | Keeps it in `Requests` until the day you pick |
     | **Trash** | It needs nothing | **Delete** removes it; **Keep** keeps it as a record with its history, still found by search |

   ::: warning Delegating? Pick another list
   A delegated request left in `Requests` comes back in the next session unless its start date
   is still to come.
   :::

   ![A running GTD session in the view Triage: the request Ask the landlord about the Berlin office, delegated, on the step that asks who owns it and where it lives, assigned to Kate Lee in the list Product](/shots/recipes/inbox-flow-1.light.webp){.light-only}
   ![A running GTD session in the view Triage: the request Ask the landlord about the Berlin office, delegated, on the step that asks who owns it and where it lives, assigned to Kate Lee in the list Product](/shots/recipes/inbox-flow-1.dark.webp){.dark-only}

   ::: danger Trash → Delete can't be undone
   The task goes with its history ([Not actionable](/guides/run-a-gtd-session#not-actionable-trash-or-someday)).
   :::

3. When the view shows **Inbox zero**, press **End session**.
   What stays in `Requests` is:
   * put off to a later day;
   * closed;
   * or a task you can't change.

A delegated task's due date is the day you follow up. To hear about its progress before then,
choose **Watch** in the task's menu ([Watch a task](/guides/assign-and-watch-tasks#watch-a-task)).

## Triage problems and fixes

* **A request skips the session.** The session mutes tasks that are put off, closed or that you
  can't change. Check the request's:

  * start date;
  * status;
  * access: yours to the list.

  See [Run a GTD session](/guides/run-a-gtd-session).
* **"This list can't be your inbox".** You can't create tasks in that list. Ask for **Edit**
  access to it and a permission set that lets you create tasks
  ([Permissions and access](/reference/permissions-and-access)), or pick a list you can add
  tasks to ([Inbox list setting](/guides/capture-to-inbox#inbox-list-setting)).
* **Requests pile up for days.** Keep sessions short: anything you can't decide in a minute goes
  to **Someday / maybe** with a return day next week
  ([Not actionable](/guides/run-a-gtd-session#not-actionable-trash-or-someday)).
* **A delegated request came back to the session.** You kept it in `Requests`. Pick another list
  under **Move to list**, or give it a start date still to come
  ([Next action](/guides/run-a-gtd-session#next-action-who-and-when)).

## Variations

* **Solo inbox.** Skip the sharing in step 3 and use the same flow for your own requests.
* **Weekly triage.** Run the session once a week as part of your
  [weekly review](/recipes/weekly-review).
* **Auto-routing.** Add an [automation](/concepts/automations) that runs **When** **Created**
  under **Tasks**, **Where** the list is **Requests**, **Only if** **Title** **contains** a keyword,
  **Then** **Move to list** with the right list, so a request reaches it before you see it
  ([Create an automation](/guides/create-an-automation)).