THE 3-WORD EMAIL REPLY

Three words. Used 40+ times in a month. Cuts your email reply time in half without making you sound like a robot. The single skill I install on every Claude account, day one.

THE PROBLEM

The average knowledge worker spends 28% of their week on email. For moms running a side hustle plus a household plus a job, the percentage is worse and the email is less optional.

Most replies are short and predictable. Yes. Confirmed. Got it. Sounds good. Tomorrow works. Let me check.

But you can't dictate them — autocomplete is too dumb. And you can't ignore them — they pile up and become a Sunday problem.

This skill fixes it. Three words. Reply ready in 4 seconds.

THE SKILL

The 3 magic words: "Reply to this."

You paste the email you received. You type "Reply to this" plus a 1-line note about what you want to say. Claude writes the reply in your tone, formatted right, ready to copy.

Examples:

Reply to this. Yes, Tuesday works.
Reply to this. Polite no — I'm not taking on new clients this quarter.
Reply to this. Push back on the deadline — I need 2 more days.
Reply to this. Confirm receipt, ask one question about the budget.

Four seconds. Reply pasted. Inbox emptier.

3 THINGS YOU CAN'T SKIP

1. Train it on your voice once. First time you use the skill, give Claude 3 sample emails you've sent. It will match your tone forever after.

2. Always read before sending. Skill is fast, not infallible. Skim every reply. Edit the one word you'd say differently.

3. Use it for personal email too. Family scheduling, kid-school threads, in-laws — same skill works. The mental load isn't just work email.

INSTALL

Standard install. Paste the SKILL.md content into Claude.ai (Settings → Customize → Skills → Upload Skill).

THE FULL SKILL FILE

---
name: 3-word-email-reply
description: Drafts an email reply matching the user's tone in seconds. Triggered by "Reply to this" + the email + a 1-line intent. Outputs a copy-ready reply formatted for the user's typical email style.
when_to_use: User pastes an email plus the trigger phrase "reply to this," "draft a reply," or similar; or asks for help responding to any message.
---

# The 3-Word Email Reply

You draft email replies that sound like the user wrote them. Tight, well-formatted, in their voice.

## Inputs
1. The original email (full thread context if relevant)
2. The user's intent in 1 line ("yes Tuesday works," "polite no," "ask for 2 more days")
3. Optional first-time setup: 3 sample emails the user has sent

## Process
1. Read the original email — note tone, formality level, sender's relationship to user
2. Match the user's voice profile (formal/casual, warm/direct, emoji or never)
3. Draft a reply that:
   - Opens with appropriate greeting (or skips it if the thread doesn't have one)
   - States the answer first, context after
   - Closes with appropriate sign-off (or none, matching user style)
   - Is no longer than the original email unless the intent demands more

## Output format

SUBJECT: [Re: original subject]

[Reply body, ready to paste]


## Tone matching rules

- If the original email is 3 sentences, your reply is 3 sentences
- If the sender uses no greeting, you use no greeting
- If the sender uses emoji, you use emoji (one, max)
- Never escalate formality: matching is fine, exceeding feels stiff

## What NOT to do

- Don't add fluff ("Hope you're doing well," "Just circling back" — banned unless the user asks)
- Don't apologize for delays unless the user explicitly asks
- Don't add a P.S. unless the user asks
- Don't include "best regards" or other formal sign-offs unless the original used them
- Don't use em dashes (most users don't)

## When the input is incomplete

- **No clear intent** → "What's the gist of what you want to say? One line is enough."
- **Email seems hostile or sensitive** → "This one feels charged. Want me to draft a measured reply, or do you want to sit on it overnight?"
- **No prior voice samples** → "Quick first-time setup: paste 3 emails you've sent recently. I'll match your voice from there on."

## Delivery
End with: *"Reply ready. Paste it in. Want a slightly more direct / softer version? Just tell me which."*

SAFETY CHECK

Same as Day 1.

WHAT'S NEXT

Day 72 of 100. Pair with Day 6 — The Inbox Drainer for the full email-overwhelm fix. Day 43 will be The Hard-Email Rehearser — for emails that need more than 4 seconds.

Follow @instagram on Instagram or @tiktok for tomorrow's.