Every open thread has someone waiting. Sometimes it’s a client waiting on you. Sometimes it’s you, waiting on a client who went quiet a week ago. Both end the same way: someone asks “any update?” and you go searching.
The short answer
alfred_ tracks both from your email. Who’s waiting on you is a standing list that keeps itself up to date. Who you’re waiting on is one question away, or a report every Monday. Nothing goes out until you approve it.
Who’s waiting on you
This list is always there. alfred_ reads your email across up to six Gmail, Outlook and IMAP accounts and keeps the threads where someone expects an answer: a question, a decision, a document.
- A thread joins after one working day without your reply.
- It leaves when you reply, mark it done, archive it, or after 21 days with nothing new.
- It’s on Home and in your morning brief, and you can ask for it any time.
Who you’re waiting on
This one you ask for, three ways:
- Ask. “Who am I waiting on?” or “has Acme replied about the proposal?”, in chat, by text, or in Claude and ChatGPT. alfred_ checks what you sent and what came back.
- Chase what I’m owed. A ready-made routine, every Monday at 8 AM by default. It lists what you asked people to do, send, review, confirm, decide or pay that’s still outstanding, oldest first.
- Your own routine. Describe it in a sentence: “every Friday at 3, text me who hasn’t answered me this week”.
You: who am I waiting on, and who’s waiting on me?
alfred_: Waiting on you: Priya Shah on the March invoice, since Tuesday. You’re waiting on: Tom Alvarez to confirm Thursday’s walkthrough, sent Monday, and Harbor Facilities on the signed quote, sent last week. Want a nudge drafted for either one?
Illustrative exchange. The names are invented.
The limit worth knowing. Both lists come from the email accounts you connect. If you connect Slack or Teams, you can ask about those too, but they don’t feed the list. Anything said only in a meeting isn’t there either. Details are in Follow-up tracking.
By hand
Who’s waiting on you. Star or flag anything you can’t answer now, and check that view each day. In Gmail, nudges can also suggest emails you may have forgotten (Google’s guide).
Who you’re waiting on. Add a “Waiting” label or category when you send something that needs an answer, and review it twice a week.
It works as long as you mark everything, on every account. The threads that slip are the ones you didn’t mark.
Getting started
- Sign in with Google or Microsoft and connect your email.
- Leave it a day, then ask: “who am I waiting on, and who’s waiting on me?”
- Turn on Chase what I’m owed if you want it every Monday.
Plans start at $29.99 a month with a 7-day free trial; teams are $49.99 a seat a month on one bill (alfred_ for teams).
