Scheduling an Email in Outlook: Quick Guide

There was a time when, to send information, we would attach a message to the leg of a carrier pigeon. Once the bird had flown, there was no going back on the message; all you could do was hope that it would be received by the recipient...

As romantic as this method of communication may be, it is fortunately a thing of the past! Today, thanks to scheduled sending, it is possible to automate emails, but also to modify them as needed before they are sent.

Here's how to schedule an email in Outlook!

How Do You Schedule an Email to Be Sent Later?

Here are the best techniques for scheduling emails in Outlook without even thinking about it!

To schedule your emails, track their delivery, and even automatically send reminders, you can use specialized platforms such as Mailchimp or Brevo.

The advantage of these platforms is that they allow you to send mass emails to a distribution group without any technical skills. Handy for your email campaigns!

Most email software includes a delayed sending option, i.e., the ability to send the email after a set delay or at a certain date and delivery time. This handy feature is usually found in the software's settings or options.

Luckily, we'll describe how to delay email send in Outlook later in this article!

Email rules are small adjustments that take 30 seconds to set up and save you hours of work by automating certain tasks. In Outlook, for example, you can create rules for email forwarding or for sorting incoming messages.

It is also possible to set up an email rule to delay the sending of a message. This is not exactly automatic scheduling, but this feature still allows you to avoid sending an email immediately.

In Outlook Desktop for Windows, to set up a delayed sending rule, follow this process: File > Manage Rules & Alerts > New Rule > Start from a blank rule > choose Apply the rule to messages I send > check the box Delay delivery by a certain number of minutes (where you can phrase a number of minutes) and choose the number of minutes. You'll need to provide a name for this rule before saving.

For those who are always on the go, travelers, and those who can't sit still—some mobile apps also allow you to schedule an email to be sent at a later date/time. This is a rare feature: most mobile email apps do not include this option, so users have to use their online version.

The Spark and Bluemail apps, for example, allow you to schedule a message to be sent directly from your smartphone.

How Do I Send an Email Automatically in Outlook?

Your Outlook email account has been created! Now it's time to learn two basics of automatic emailing: out-of-office messages and recurring emails.

To Automatically Reply to an Email

Are you going on vacation and want to schedule an automatic reply email for future incoming emails? You have two options: you can set up an automatic reply in Outlook's dedicated feature, or you can create a rule.

You can also create a rule, for example to send a more personalized message depending on the sender. Note that this option is only available on Outlook Desktop for Windows-Microsoft support provides detailed documentation on this.

To Send a Message on a Recurring Basis

Unfortunately, Outlook does not allow users to send recurring emails natively (i.e., directly in the software).

To be able to send a message on a recurring basis and (almost) automatically, you can use the "Recurring Task + Notification" method. This involves setting up a recurring task in Outlook and attaching a draft email to this task, then adding an alert to remind you to send it and sending it manually.

Here are the specific steps:

1. Write your email, then save it as a draft in the draft folder.
2. In the navigation bar, select the Tasks module, then click on New Task.
3. Fill in the Subject field (for example: Send recurring email: meeting report), then choose the recurrence.
4. Add an alarm by activating Outlook Reminder/Alarm.
5. Click OK, then Save and Close.

On the day of sending, you will receive a notification. All you have to do is send the email.

Tip: to make your recurring emails even more effective in terms of communication, add an Outlook signature!

How to Schedule Automatic Email Delivery With Outlook on Different Versions

Your email is all ready to go, and all you have to do is schedule its delivery! Yes, you can schedule emails on Outlook across different devices and versions. Here's how to do this so no one feels left out.

Outlook Desktop

On Windows

1. Click on New Message, then write your email with clear subject lines.
2. In the ribbon at the top, select the Options tab (look for the More Options group in the ribbon).
3. Select Delay Delivery (this is where Outlook delayed delivery is configured).
4. Under Delivery Options, select Do not deliver before, then choose the date and delivery time you want the email to be sent.
5. Click on Close to return to the email, then click on Send.

Your email will be kept in the outbox until the selected date and time. If you need to make changes, switch to the Outbox folder to edit it.

Please note: on Windows, you must be connected to the internet on the day of sending for your message to be delivered! Windows-Microsoft Community forums provide additional troubleshooting tips if needed.

On Mac

1. Write your email, then click on the small arrow next to the Send button (the dropdown next to Send).
2. Select Send Later, then select the date and delivery time you want to send it.
3. Confirm your selection.

Please note: the Outlook app on Mac does not need to be open for the email to be sent, as this process is managed by the server.

Outlook Mobile: Schedule Send Outlook App

On Android

1. In your Outlook app for Android, compose your message as normal.
2. Click on the three vertical dots in the top right corner.
3. Select Send Later.
4. Select the date and delivery time you want to send your message.
5. Confirm.

Your scheduled email will be stored in the draft folder until it's time to send.

On iPhone/iOS

1. In your Outlook app on iPhone or iPad, compose your email.
2. Long press Send or tap the small arrow next to it (some users may see an arrow from the tags section or an edit pencil icon depending on their version).
3. Choose the date and delivery time you want to send it.
4. Confirm the schedule.

Note: If you don't see the schedule send option, make sure you have the latest version of the Outlook-Microsoft Support app installed. Some users report that scheduled send Outlook not showing can be resolved by updating the app.

Outlook Web

1. In Outlook.com or Microsoft 365 (the pro version of Outlook), compose a New message.
2. Click the small down arrow next to the Send button.
3. Choose Schedule send or Send later.
4. Choose the date and delivery time you want to send it, then confirm.

The email will be kept in the draft folder until it is sent at the specified delivery time.

How Do I Cancel a Scheduled Email in Outlook?

Oops! You've just realized that your scheduled email contains an error. No problem: it is possible to cancel a scheduled email when scheduling emails in Outlook.

***

With Outlook's scheduling feature, it's easy to plan an email according to your needs! By the way, to be 100% sure that your email is sent correctly, remember to check the maximum email size in Outlook.