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How to Schedule an Email in Outlook
Two different features with two different names, depending on which Outlook you are in. Here is each one, and where your message actually sits until it goes.
Try it with your OutlookOutlook's way: Schedule send, or Delay Delivery
- 1New Outlook and Outlook on the web: write the message, then select the dropdown arrow next to Send → Schedule send. Pick one of the suggested times or set your own, then send. The message waits in Drafts until its delivery time.
- 2Classic Outlook desktop: in the compose window, open the Options arrow in the Tags group → tick "Do not deliver before" → set the date and time → Close, then Send. The message waits in your Outbox, not Drafts.
- 3To change or cancel: in new Outlook and on the web, open it in Drafts and cancel the send. In classic Outlook, open it in the Outbox and either clear the "Do not deliver before" box or delete it.
- 4To delay every message you send, classic Outlook can do it with a rule — but that rule is capped at 120 minutes.
The problem
- ✕Schedule send is not available for IMAP or POP accounts in new Outlook
- ✕Classic Outlook's Delay Delivery holds the message in your Outbox, and Microsoft's guidance is that Outlook needs to be online and connected for it to go
- ✕The two features live in different menus with different names, so instructions found online often do not match the Outlook you are in
- ✕Scheduling controls when a message leaves. It does nothing about whether anyone replies to it.
What Clarity adds: the part after it sends
- 1Clarity does not schedule sends — use Outlook's own Schedule send for that.
- 2It watches the messages you have sent and notices which ones got no reply.
- 3Those threads appear in your morning brief instead of being forgotten in Sent Items.
- 4When a reply does come in, Clarity categorises it and can draft your response, waiting in Outlook for you to send.
What changes
- ✓A scheduled send you forgot about still surfaces, because the silence is tracked
- ✓Follow-ups are found by reading your sent mail, not by you remembering to check
- ✓Native Outlook categories and normal Outlook drafts — nothing new to open
- ✓Nothing is ever sent on your behalf
Who runs into this
Consultant
Writes proposals at 11pm and schedules them for 8am so they land at the top of the inbox.
Sales lead
Schedules the quote, then loses track of which quotes were never answered.
Manager
Drafts across a weekend and wants nothing to arrive before Monday morning.
Frequently asked questions
How do I schedule an email in new Outlook?
Select the dropdown arrow next to the Send button and choose Schedule send, then pick a suggested time or set your own. The message waits in your Drafts folder until then.
Where does a scheduled email go until it sends?
It depends on the version. In new Outlook and Outlook on the web it sits in Drafts. In classic Outlook desktop, Delay Delivery holds it in the Outbox.
Why can't I schedule send in Outlook?
Microsoft states the feature is not available for IMAP or POP accounts in new Outlook. If your account is connected that way, the option will not appear.
Can I delay every email I send?
In classic Outlook you can do it with a rule that applies to all outgoing mail, but Microsoft caps that delay at 120 minutes. There is no equivalent blanket delay in new Outlook.
Does Clarity schedule emails for me?
No. Sending and scheduling stay with you. Clarity categorises incoming mail, drafts replies that wait in Outlook, and tells you which sent messages never got an answer.
Looking for Microsoft's own documentation? Microsoft's schedule send documentation
More Outlook guides
How to Recall an Email in Outlook
When recall works, when it fails, and what to do when it is already too late.
Auto-Draft Email Replies
Clarity writes replies in your voice — review, edit, and send in seconds.
Daily Email Summary
A morning brief of what needs your attention — prioritized by urgency, noise filtered out.
What it costs you
Roughly 9.1 hours a week
Estimate2.8 hrs of that we could cover
The rest stays yours — it is not repeatable.
106 hrs
a year, if the low end of the range holds
137
threads went quiet and nothing told you
Last 90 days · your own mail · illustrative figures
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