How to Schedule Emails in Outlook on Any Platform

Most of us are faced with a constant barrage of emails all day long. While most emails don’t even require our attention, let alone interactions, some do require planning. Should I answer now or later is one of the many questions to be answered. Microsoft wants to make life easier with the Send Later option which allows users to schedule emails in Outlook.

The scheduling feature is available on all platforms and for all users, whether you use it for free or with a paid plan. So you can compose and schedule an email. There are other scenarios where this is useful, whether it is a meeting or an important cold mail.

Let’s understand how it works.

How to schedule emails in Outlook on the web

Step 1: Open Outlook in your preferred browser and sign in using your Microsoft account. Click the blue New Message button in the upper left corner of the screen to compose a new email. You can also reply to an email in the inbox.

2nd step: Compose your message as you normally would. Click the arrow next to the Send button to display a menu with the Send Later option. Select that.

Step 3: Set the date and time for the email in the pop-up window that follows. Click Submit to save the changes.

You will find all scheduled emails in the Drafts folder in the left sidebar. I know. Instead, it should be in the Scheduled folder. During my testing, the emails were sent every time on the scheduled date and time, and there is an option to cancel the scheduled email.

Click the pencil icon before the Cancel Send option to change the email or the date and time it should be sent.

How to Schedule Emails in Outlook on Android and iOS

There is no way to schedule emails in Outlook through Android or iOS app. It’s strange how even Gmail provides this functionality on all platforms. There are also many user requests for the feature. I suggest you submit your vote and ask others to do the same, because Microsoft takes this seriously.

Fortunately, there are plenty of third-party email apps, some of them even free, that will let you schedule emails. We could suggest Spark Email, but there are other options. One of the best-designed messaging apps with cool features like built-in on-send. The steps will remain the same for Android and iOS versions. For this guide, I am using the Android version.

Step 1: Enter your Outlook email ID and password to set up your account in Spark. Follow the on-screen instructions to configure it. You can also add more accounts from the Settings area later.

2nd step: Compose a new email or reply to an old one. You will find an airplane icon with a timer in the bottom bar slightly on the right side of the screen.

Step 3: There are a few default options available for quickly performing planning actions. Instead, use the Pick a date option to set a custom date and time.

How to schedule emails in Outlook on the desktop

The Outlook desktop app works a little differently, and Microsoft calls the Delay Delivery feature instead. Here is how it works.

Step 1: Open an existing email or compose a new one and from the Options menu select the three dot menu to click Delay Delivery.

2nd step: In the pop-up window that follows, check the “Do not deliver before” box and choose a date and time depending on when you want to schedule delivery of the email.

Click the Close button and you can now send the email as usual. All the emails you have scheduled are in the Outbox folder. You can open it to edit the content or the schedule of the email. Repeat the same steps to uncheck the “Do not deliver before” box to send the email immediately.

Timing is everything

Hope Microsoft adds the scheduling feature to its Outlook app on Android and iOS. Many people read and respond to emails while on the go. Not being able to schedule an email on your smartphone leaves a lot to be desired. Plus, it breaks the consistency of the UI which is worse. Fortunately, other apps have gone the distance to ensure that users get a premium experience while working with emails. I guess that’s why third-party apps are so popular no matter what segment you are looking at.

Let us know what is your favorite feature or why do you use Outlook email client over others. I guess the answer is my business uses it.