When Google announced it will enable scheduling emails in Gmail, we were all thrilled about it! After all, the majority of people are using Gmail as their preferred email service, and simplifying their lives in any way possible will be welcomed enthusiastically.
Previously, if you wanted to schedule your emails, you had to get a third-party add-on or simply accept to send your emails without the option for scheduling. How many times were you working late at night and remembered you needed to send an important email, but it was already past midnight?
Being able to write that email right away and schedule it for sending in the morning is something that would tremendously help in situations like these. Thankfully, Gmail recognized our almost devastating need for this feature and decided to launch it in April 2019.
If you were wondering how to schedule your emails in Gmail, we’ve compiled all the information you need to know about this recent update.
Steps to Scheduling Emails
There are only a few simple steps when it comes to scheduling emails in your Gmail account:
- Compose your new email.
- Click on the triangle next to the blue “Send” button below your email.
- Select among the suggested times or simply click “Pick Date and Time” to ensure it’s sent right when you need it
- Click “Schedule Send.”
If you want to schedule it from your Gmail mobile app, the process is completely the same. The only difference is that instead of scheduling it by pressing the triangle next to the send button, you will need to click the three dots in the top right corner. This will take you to the option to schedule your desired time.
Cancelling Scheduled Emails
Let’s say you scheduled an email with all of the instructions for your new project partner to be sent tomorrow, but you ended up having a meeting about it today. Instead of sending all these details you already discussed yesterday, you can cancel this email in a snap!
You will notice a new folder called the “Scheduled folder” both on your desktop and mobile. Just click on that particular email in the folder and click on the option “Cancel Send” to prevent this message from being sent at all. This email will go straight to your drafts so you will not lose it entirely if you need details from that email for something else.
Limitless Options
You can even schedule emails for a few years out. It might seem a bit unlikely to write an email that needs to be scheduled a few years from now, but there are many situations where this could be very helpful.
For instance, you could schedule all birthday emails to your employees or business partners immediately when they tell you the date so you don’t forget about it later. You can schedule an email for your company’s anniversary, which will be sent to your internal email list on that date. The same thing can be done with national, religious or any other holidays, which are important to people around you. Scheduling emails in Gmail is truly limitless!
Scheduled Emails Improve Communication
How can something that simple as scheduling emails in Gmail improve communication? Well, let’s start with internal communication in your company. It’s fantastic that you’re so dedicated to your company that you will even work on your recent project at night. Your employees, on the other hand, will not be that thrilled to receive an email at 2 o’clock in the morning, especially if it consists of assigned tasks for the following days.
As your employees, they will sometimes feel obligated to reply immediately or won’t be able to sleep because they know they have a difficult week ahead of them. This is where scheduling your emails improves internal communication. All of your messages will still be communicated via email, just at the right time.
The same is with external communication. You don’t want to send emails to a client you want to land in the middle of the night. Not only that there’s a serious possibility of waking that client up if his/her notifications are not turned off, but you are also risking to appear unprofessional. As you probably know, the impression in business is everything. Don’t let something as small as a single email ruin that impression for you.
Gmail Scheduling vs. Third-Party Tools
You’ve maybe even tried some of the third-party tools before Google launched the scheduling feature, or you’re still using some of them. As Gmail has its own built-in option for scheduling your emails, should you be paying for third-party tools?
Of course, your answer will depend on your requirements when it comes to email. You might enjoy these third-party tools because they have an additional option that Gmail still doesn’t have, or you’ve simply gotten used to utilizing it.
Those who want just to schedule their emails for sending will be more than happy with Google’s recent feature. Not to mention that third-party tools will cost you money, so if you truly can’t afford it right now, you should enjoy the free version of scheduling provided in your Gmail account!
Scheduling Gmail in Outlook
Now, your Gmail can also be set up in Outlook and luckily, you can schedule your emails there as well. Just compose the email you want to send and follow these simple steps:
- Select the “Options” tab and choose “Delay Delivery.”
- Choose “Do not Deliver Before” and set a date and time.
- Close it and your “Delay Delivery” button will stay gray if the delay is active.
- Finish your email and press “Send.”
Keep in mind that your email will be sent around the time you’ve chosen because Gmail in Outlook only allows you to set the time before the email won’t be delivered. Usually, it is sent really quickly after the chosen time, but just in case, choose at least one hour earlier when you’re sending important emails.
When to Schedule Your Emails
We’ve already mentioned some of the situations where scheduling your emails will be quite handy, but there are a few more of them. For instance, it’s important when you’re communicating with someone who is in a different time zone and you want to send your email within their office hours to be sure they will not miss it.
Also, if you remember something on Friday night and you don’t want to wait until Monday, you can create your email as schedule it for Monday. It can be an email for someone or you can send it to yourself as a reminder. You can also add reminder to Google Calendar to schedule your emails.
If your team members are on their vacation, you probably don’t want to bug them with emails, however, you don’t want to forget these particular topics, either. The best thing to do is to schedule an email with a date when they’re coming back to work.
Final Thoughts
Scheduling emails in Gmail will help you with many things, from becoming more observant to improving the communication you have with both your team and your business partners and clients.
As it’s simple and completely free, there’s no reason for you not to try it and make the most of it. Create a habit of thinking about the appropriate time for sending certain emails, and you’ll see how easier it is to write everything right away instead of waiting for that appropriate moment.
Encourage your colleagues to start practicing scheduling their emails as well. The better you are with your email communication, the easier it will be to achieve the results you want!
