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Action Items FAQ Guide

Action Items are a powerful way to stay on top of your most important tasks across email, Slack, and ticketing platforms. This guide covers frequently asked questions to help you get the most out of Action Items at Nerve.

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What are Action Items?

Action Items are automatically identified tasks that require your attention, aggregated from your email, Slack, and ticketing systems. Nerve proactively surfaces these tasks so you can focus on what matters most without wading through notifications or spam.

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How do I access my Action Items?

You can find your Action Items in the dedicated tab in your Nerve sidebar. This feed shows tasks from the past 7 days, ordered by recency, and updates as new tasks are detected or completed. Launch Action Items

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How does Nerve identify and prioritize Action Items?

Nerve monitors your communication channels and ticketing platforms, using AI to filter out noise and surface only urgent or relevant tasks. It prioritizes tasks based on urgency, deadlines, and your past activity, so you always see what needs your attention first.

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What actions can I take on an Action Item?

• Reply or Complete: Respond directly within the Action Items tab. Use AI to draft a reply, or write your own response.
• Mark as Completed: Check off tasks as you finish them. Nerve will complete the action in the underlying app, so you don’t need to switch tabs.
• Save for Later: Pin tasks to keep them in your inbox for longer than 7 days.
• Set Due Date: Assign a deadline, and Nerve will flag the date in your inbox.
• Archive: Move tasks you’ve read or don’t need to act on to the Archive tab.
• Add New Task: Create tasks manually if they aren’t already in your inbox.

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What happens to Action Items after 7 days?

Tasks disappear from your feed if no action is taken within 7 days. Archived tasks can be found in the Archive tab for reference.

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Can I customize which Action Items I see?

Yes! You can set custom filters to track correspondence from specific people or channels, ignore notifications from certain senders, and adjust your feed to show only what’s relevant to you.

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What information is shown for each Action Item?

• Summary of the task or thread
• Sender and recipients
• Last message and context (for emails and Slack threads)
• Suggested actions and reply bar
• Options for tone and length when drafting responses

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Tips and Tricks

• Pin important tasks so you don’t lose track of them.
• Use AI suggestions to save time on replies.
• Archive completed or irrelevant tasks to keep your feed clean.
• Set reminders by saving for later or assigning due dates.
• Review the Archive if you need to revisit older tasks.

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Troubleshooting

• Why isn’t a task showing up? Make sure the source (email, Slack, ticketing) is connected and indexed. Check your filters and settings.
• Can I ignore notifications from certain senders? Yes, set rules to ignore future notifications from specific senders or groups.
• Does archiving a task affect my underlying inbox? Archiving in Action Items does not archive the email or message in your original inbox.

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Use Cases

• Engineers: Track blockers, bug reports, and technical design doc requests.
• Product Managers: Stay on top of feedback, PRDs, and sprint tasks.
• Sales: Manage pipeline reviews, prospect follow-ups, and deal updates.
• Customer Success: Monitor support tickets, churn risks, and documentation needs.

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Getting Started with Action Items

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Step 1: Connect Your Sources

1. Ensure your email, Slack, and ticketing systems are connected
2. Check that you have the right permissions in each source
3. Wait for initial indexing to complete (usually 5-15 minutes)

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Step 2: Review Your Feed

1. Open the Action Items tab in your Nerve sidebar
2. Review the automatically identified tasks
3. Check that important tasks are being captured
4. Adjust filters if needed

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Step 3: Take Action

1. Reply directly to tasks using the built-in reply function
2. Use AI suggestions to draft responses quickly
3. Mark as completed when tasks are done
4. Archive tasks that don’t require action

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Step 4: Customize Your Experience

1. Set up filters for specific people or channels
2. Configure notification preferences
3. Create manual tasks for important items
4. Use the “Save for Later” feature for ongoing tasks

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Advanced Features

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AI-Powered Responses

• Smart suggestions based on context and your writing style
• Tone adjustment for different types of responses
• Length control for quick replies or detailed responses
• Template matching for common response types

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Custom Filters

• By person: Focus on tasks from specific team members
• By channel: Track tasks from particular Slack channels
• By urgency: Prioritize high-urgency items
• By type: Filter by email, Slack, or ticketing tasks

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Integration with Other Nerve Features

• Timeline: Action Items can appear in your Timeline feeds
• Universal Search: Search across all your Action Items
• Author: Use Action Item context when writing responses

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Best Practices

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Daily Workflow

1. Start your day by reviewing Action Items
2. Prioritize based on urgency and deadlines
3. Batch similar tasks for efficiency
4. Use AI suggestions to speed up responses
5. Archive completed tasks to keep your feed clean

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Team Collaboration

• Share important tasks with team members
• Use consistent tagging for project-related items
• Set up team-wide filters for shared responsibilities
• Regular reviews to ensure nothing falls through the cracks

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Customization

• Adjust filters as your role or priorities change
• Create manual tasks for important items not captured automatically
• Use the Archive as a reference for completed work
• Regular cleanup to maintain an organized feed

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Common Scenarios

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After Time Off

1. Review Action Items from your time away
2. Use filters to focus on urgent items
3. Catch up on important conversations
4. Archive outdated or resolved items

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Project Deadlines

1. Set up filters for project-specific channels
2. Use “Save for Later” for ongoing project tasks
3. Set due dates for time-sensitive items
4. Monitor progress through the Action Items feed

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Team Handoffs

1. Share relevant Action Items with team members
2. Use clear descriptions and context
3. Set appropriate due dates
4. Follow up on transferred items

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Need Help?

For Action Items-specific questions or issues:

• Check our Action Items Guide for detailed setup instructions
• Contact support at [email protected]
• Join our community for Action Items best practices