How to Schedule Email in Outlook and 3 Other Popular Providers

Gmail: Don’t overlook arrow within Send button

Sending a time-delayed email within Google’s Gmail, the second most popular email service behind various versions of Apple Mail, is easy if you look within the Send button.

1. Go to Gmail.com and sign in if you aren’t already.

2. Click Compose and write an email to someone.

3. Click the white downward triangle ▼ to the right of the word Send in the blue button on the lower left of your email | Schedule send.

4. Choose a date and time. You’ll have some standard options, or you can Pick date & time by either clicking a day on the calendar or typing in the date and moving your cursor off that line, which will automatically move the calendar to your desired date. Then you can type in your time.

5. Hit the Schedule send button. You don’t need to have your computer on for your email to be delivered.

If you change your mind, you can click on the Scheduled section in the left rail of your browser, hover your cursor over the unopened message to see options to send it to the Trash can or choose a different time by clicking the clock icon. Double clicking on the message will bring up a Cancel send option and reopen the email.

Outlook.com, Microsoft’s free email client, simplifies the way to delay sending email compared to Microsoft 365.

AARP

Outlook.com vs. 365 Outlook: Different tactics

If you’re one of the millions who use Microsoft Outlook on the web or one of the 1.3 million in the U.S. who have the Microsoft 365 suite of apps, you’ll find that the free version on the web is easier to figure out when scheduling email. 

1. On Outlook.com, click New Email in the upper left corner of your screen and draft your message to someone, but don’t click the Send button. Instead, look for a white downward caret v that extends the blue Send box at the right. Click that.

2. Choose Schedule Send.

3. You’ll see options to send Tomorrow morning, the next morning or Custom time. From there, similar to Gmail, you’ll have the option of clicking a calendar day and choosing a time from a pulldown menu or you can type in something yourself in the boxes. Then hit Send. Your computer doesn’t have to be on when you want to send because the message is saved on Microsoft’s servers in the cloud.

Apple Macintosh users who have Microsoft 365 and an Exchange email account will find steps similar to Outlook.com, but the Microsoft Outlook app for Macs won’t allow you to send an email later.

Microsoft 365 and older Outlook versions on Windows computers bury the scheduling feature under Options | Delay Delivery. On the screen that pops up is a section titled Delivery options. Make sure the box before Do not deliver before is checked and choose a desired date and time.

Click Close. Click Send when you’ve finished writing your message. But you’ll have to make sure that your computer is on and Outlook is open at the time you want your message to be sent because the email has been saved on your PC.

Proton Mail: Privacy doesn’t mean complicated

Those who prefer Proton Mail’s emphasis on privacy and encryption can also schedule emails for delivery later.

1. Sign into your Proton Mail box and select New message at the top left of the screen.

2. Write an email to someone.

3. Click the pulldown arrow next to the Send button and select a predefined time to schedule your email. Once you review the date and time, click Schedule message.

You don’t need to keep your computer on. If you change your mind about sending the email, open Composer to edit your message and the email will automatically return to your Drafts folder.