Scheduling emails with Outlook significantly enhances your communication effectiveness, especially when interacting with people across various time zones. This operation ensures that your emails are sent at times when recipients are most likely to read them, preventing your messages from being overlooked or lost amidst numerous others. In this article, we will share tips on how to schedule or delay sending emails in Outlook across different platforms: Windows, Web, Mac, and Mobile.

Schedule or delay sending emails in Outlook for Windows

• Schedule sending a single email by using Delay Delivery feature
• Delay sending all emails by creating a rule
• How to keep track of scheduled emails?

Schedule or delay sending email in Outlook on web

• Schedule sending an email by using Schedule send feature
• Cancel a sending email by using Undo send feature

Schedule or delay sending emails in Outlook for Mac

Schedule or delay sending emails in Outlook on mobile

FAQs

Video: Schedule or delay sending emails in Outlook

Schedule or delay sending emails in Outlook for Windows

In this section, we will provide a comprehensive guide that meticulously details the process of scheduling and delaying the sending of individual emails, as well as setting default delays for all outgoing emails in Outlook for Windows.

Schedule sending a single email by using Delay Delivery feature

Outlook's Delay Delivery feature is a powerful feature specifically designed for scheduling the dispatch of individual emails. It allows users to compose messages at their leisure and schedule them for a specific future time. Here, we will demonstrate how to use this Delay Delivery feature to schedule the sending of an individual email in Outlook.

Step 1: Compose a New Email

Open Outlook on Windows and click New Email under the Home tab. Then, in the new message window, compose your email as normal by filling in the recipient, subject, and the body of the message. See screenshot:

Step 2: Access the Delay Delivery Feature and set the Deliver Time

1. In the new message window, click Options > Delay Delivery, see screenshot:
   
2. When the Properties dialog box appears, in the Do not deliver before section, specify the date and time you want the email to be sent. Then, click the Close button to exit the dialog. See screenshot:
   

Step 3: Complete and Send the Email

Finish composing your email, adding any other necessary attachments or information you need. Click Send button in the message window. The scheduled email will remain in the Outbox folder until it reaches the specified delivery time. See screenshot:

While it’s in the Outbox, you have the flexibility to edit or delete the message as needed.

Delay sending all emails by creating a rule

Delaying the sending of all emails can be quite useful, especially when you want to have a moment to review or cancel an email after hitting Send button. By creating a rule in Outlook, you can set a delay for all your outgoing messages. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to accomplish this:

Step 1: Open Manage Rules & Alert in Outlook

In the main Outlook window, click Rules > Manage Rules & Alerts form the Home tab, see screenshot:

Step 2: Create the new rule

1. In the Rules and Alerts dialog box, click New Rule, see screenshot:
   
2. A Rules Wizard appears, in the Start from a Blank Rule section, click the Apply rule on messages I send option, and then click Next.
   
3. To delay sending of all emails, simply click Next again without checking any conditions. A confirmation box will pop up, asking if you want this rule to apply to every message you send. Click Yes.
   If you want the delay emails that meet specific conditions, select the corresponding check box and set the rule. (For example, to delay emails sent through a specific account, check though the specified account box, and choose the email account.)
   
4. In the What do you want to do with the message? box:
   1. Check the option defer delivery by a number of minutes from the Step 1: Select action(s) list box;
   2. In the lower pane, under Step 2: Edit the rule description box, click the underlined text a number of;
   3. In the Deferred Delivery box, type a number of minutes by which you'd like to delay the sending of your emails (a maximum of 120), and then click OK.
      
5. The link text now displays the time interval for which Outlook will delay sending of emails. Please go on click Next button, see screenshot:
   
6. If there is no exceptions to the delay rule, directly click Next button without checking any conditions.
   If there are any exceptions to the delay rule, specify them in the next window. (For example, you might not want to delay emails with a specific word in the subject, set the corresponding rule you need.)
   
7. In the final step, give your rule a name and check Turn on this rule option, and then click Finish button.
   
8. Go on clicking OK button in the following prompt box, see screenshot:
   
9. At last, click OK in the Rules and Alerts dialog box.

Result:

Now, after you click the Send button, all your emails will be stored in Outbox folder and delayed by the specified number of minutes.

How to keep track of scheduled emails?

Emails scheduled for later delivery will remain in your outbox. While this is useful, it can also lead to confusion due to the lack of visible indicators showing the delivery delay of the messages. In this case, adding a customized column in the Outbox that indicates the scheduled time of an email is a good solution. Here’s how to do it in Outlook:

1. Open your Outbox folder, and then right click the bar with the column name, and choose Field Chooser from the context menu, see screenshot:
   
2. In the Field Chooser box, select Date/Time fields from the drop-down list, and then drag the Defer Until option to the column bar, at last, close the box, see the demo below:
   
3. The date and time of the scheduled email will now be visible in the Outbox folder, allowing you to easily check when each email is set to be sent.
   

Schedule or delay sending email in Outlook on web

If you are using Outlook Online, your scheduled emails are ensured to be sent at the predetermined date and time, regardless of whether you have Outlook Online open or not. In this section, we will share some tips and tricks for scheduling emails in Outlook on the Web

Schedule sending an email by using Schedule send feature

Outlook Online offers an easy-to-use feature - Schedule Send, which allows you to send emails at a specific time you choose. Please do with the following steps:

Step 1: Login to Outlook on the Web

Visit the Outlook website and sign in with your credentials.

Step 2: Compose a New Emaile

1. Click New mail button to compose a new email, see screenshot:
   
2. Then, add the recipient and subject and compose the email body as you need, see screenshot:
   

Step 3: Schedule your email

1. Select Schedule send from the Send drop down list, see screenshot:
   
2. In the Schedule send box, select one of the suggested date and times or click Custom time to set your own datetime. Here, I click Custom time, see screenshot:
   
3. In the Set custom date and time box, specify the data and time when you want the email to be sent. And then, click Send button, see screenshot:
   

Result:

Now, your scheduled email has been stored in the Drafts folder. And you can see a clear notification that you have scheduled the email with the date and time it’s scheduled to send. See screenshot:

While it’s in the Drafts folder, you can edit or delete the message as needed.

Cancel a sending email by using Undo send feature

We've all been there: the moment we click Send on an email, only to realize a second later that we’ve made a mistake. It might be a typo, a forgotten attachment, or even sending it to the wrong recipient. Luckily, Outlook Online offers a convenient solution for such situations, the Undo Send feature. This powerful tool can be a lifesaver, allowing you to retract an email shortly after it’s been sent. Here’s a quick guide to how to use the Undo Send feature in Outlook Online.

Step 1: Login to Outlook on the Web

Visit the Outlook website and sign in with your credentials.

Step 2: Enable the Undo send option

1. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner of Outlook online, see screenshot:
   
2. In the Settings window, please do the following operations:
   1. Click Mail from the left pane;
   2. Then, click Compose and reply from the middle pane;
   3. Scroll down to the Undo send section, and then slide the slider to the right, setting how long Outlook will wait to send the message, up to 10 seconds, here, I scroll to 10;
   4. At last, click Save button.
      
3. Then close the window.

Result:

Now, when you send an email in Outlook Online, an Undo button will appear for 10 seconds. This brief delay allows you to prevent the accidental sending of an email.

Schedule or delay sending emails in Outlook for Mac

If you are using Outlook for Mac, you can directly use the Schedule Send feature on your Mac to efficiently plan emails for future delivery.

Step 1: Compose a New Email

Open Outlook on Mac and click New Email. Fill in the recipient's email address, subject line, and the body of your message. See screenshot:

Step 2: Schedule the email

1. On the Send button, click the drop down list and select Schedule send, see screenshot:
   
2. In the Set Date and Time window, specify the date and time for the email to be sent, and then click OK button, see screenshot:
   

Result:

Now, the message will be stored in the Drafts folder. And you can see a clear notification that you have scheduled the email with the date and time it’s scheduled to send. See screenshot:

While it’s in the Drafts folder, you can edit or delete the message as needed.

Schedule or delay sending emails in Outlook on mobile

In today's dynamic environment, the mobile version of Outlook has become an indispensable tool for many. With features like Schedule Send, it ensures that your messages are sent at the right time, even when you're away from your desk. In this section, we will introduce how to delay sending emails in Outlook on Android or iOS.

Step 1: Launch the Outlook app on your Android or iOS device

Result:

The scheduled email is now stored in the Outbox folder until it reaches the specified delivery time.

While it’s in the Outbox folder, you can edit or delete the message as needed.

FAQs

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