So, you want to create the illusion that you are that guy who wakes up at 4 a.m., works out, takes a shower and sends those carefully articulated emails at a time when the rest of us mortals can’t even comprehend which planet we are on.
Maybe you want to respond to that one client right now, in the dead of night, but want to reach them during their working hours.
Or maybe you want to set up reminders, jot down important notes and send emails in advance so that you don’t have to go through the hard labor of remembering dates.
For all the reasons above and more, Google has launched an email scheduling feature to help both the hopelessly proactive and the occasionally forgetful be better at what they do.
Users have been on the lookout for this feature for a while, and some may argue it’s overdue. Chatter about this topic can be seen in Gmail forum threads dating all the way back to 2009. Many social media platforms adopted the feedback years ago, with Facebook first introducing its own scheduling feature in 2012.
Nonetheless, Gmail’s new feature is a welcome addition to the product, as users can now control the dispatch of their emails natively in the platform, both mobile and desktop version.
Gmail’s Email Scheduling Facility
The new email scheduling feature is a built-in tool that lets you choose when an email you are working on should be sent.
Instead of just having the traditional Send option while composing the email, now you’ll see a tiny arrow right beside the Send button. Clicking it opens up the Schedule send option.
Using this option, you can schedule an email to be sent in as little as two minutes all the way up to a staggering 49 years.
Through this, you can essentially use Gmail as your personal assistant, sending reminders in the past to guide you in the future.
With it you can:
- Schedule emails to be sent at the appropriate times, instead of at 2 a.m. to your boss.
- Ensure that you don’t miss important dates—with the new tool, you can easily set aside time to send happy birthday or anniversary emails for the rest of the year.
- Send emails at a time when you’re ready to respond in case of a prompt reply.
Schedule send gives you potentially limitless possibilities.
You can even turn it into your own personal project management tool where you set up important reminders for milestones and send emails to note down progress.
The feature has been rolled out on all platforms. Here is a detailed explanation on how to use it.
Schedule Send Gmail from Your Browser
Open up your Gmail account on your web browser. It should appear the same on all browsers.
Here, click the Compose button to open up the New Message box. Choose your recipients and write your email as normal.
Compose new email
Once you’re done, instead of pressing the Send button, do the following:
- Click the small dropdown arrow on the right side of the Send button.
Press the dropdown arrow
2. This will open up the Schedule send button on top of the Send button. Click it.
Press the “Schedule send” button
3. A small popup menu will appear in the middle of the screen with preset options to schedule your email for tomorrow morning, tomorrow afternoon or an upcoming weekday morning, as well as the option to manually select a time and date.
Schedule send options
4. Choosing the preset options will setup the email to be sent at that particular time. Choosing the Select date and time option will open up another menu with a calendar to select a date and a box to choose a time.
Manual time selection
5. Choose whichever option works best for you and then click the Schedule send button.
Send alert
6. Your email will appear as if you just clicked the Send button, albeit with a different alert message: “Send scheduled for <your selected date and time>” with the options to Undo or Cancel message.
Schedule Send from the Gmail App
Scheduling an email from the Gmail app is even easier.
Simply click the + symbol to open the Compose email screen.
Mobile options
Write your email and then, instead of tapping the right arrowhead button to send the message, complete the following steps:
- Tap the three dot symbol in the top right corner. This will open up a small options menu.
- Select the Schedule send option at the top.
Menu options
3. This will open up a menu with preset options for scheduling the email for the last scheduled time, tomorrow morning, tomorrow afternoon or an upcoming weekday morning. The option to manually select a date and time is also included.
Scheduling options.
4. Select the option that best suits your situation. You will be taken to your inbox with an alert message on the bottom that reads “Send scheduled for <your selected date and time>” with the option to Undo.
Send alert
Cancel/Update the Send Scheduled Email
Choosing a time to send your email does not set its schedule in stone. Unlike regular email, you have the luxury of time to alter or cancel the already-scheduled email.
All you need to do is:
- Take a look at the folders in your inbox.
Scheduled folder.
2. Here you will find a new folder labeled Scheduled.
3. Tap on the folder. Here you will see all the emails you have previously scheduled.
Delete/Cancel scheduled emails
4. You can select individual emails and tap the Cancel send option from the top to completely cancel the email.
5. Or, if you want to update the email, you can tap on the email to open it and then tap on the Cancel send button on the bottom right side. This will open up the email as a draft for you to work on.
Editing the scheduled message by clicking “Cancel send”
Editing the message.
6. Once you’re done, go through the Schedule send process again to send the email.
Now that you understand how to use the Schedule send tool, you can explore ways to make it work best for you.
If you want to schedule your emails in advance, Gmail has a new feature that lets you do that easily. You can choose the date and time you want your email to be sent, and Gmail will take care of the rest. This can be useful if you need to send an email at a specific time, such as how long 10 business days are for a deadline or a follow-up.
Google’s move to build this function into Gmail eliminates the need for third-party tools and allows users to set up small reminders which are independent of mobile batteries and apps or differences between browsers. The Schedule send option makes us all free to be the person who has everything under control.
