How to Schedule an Email in Gmail

Using Gmail comes with features that many email services don’t offer.

One of the most convenient features is the ability to schedule an email, which makes my daily life much easier, both personally and professionally.

Let me explain everything.

How to Schedule an Email Using Gmail

How to Schedule an Email in the Gmail App

Start by opening Gmail in your browser. Then:

Click the “Compose” button, add your recipients, subject, and draft your message.
Click the small downward arrow next to the Send button and select “Schedule send.”
A pop-up window will appear. You can either choose a predefined date and time (e.g., "Tomorrow morning") or set a custom date and time.
Click Schedule send to confirm.

💡 Tip: A confirmation message will briefly appear. You can view all scheduled emails by selecting the “Scheduled” folder from the menu.

How to Schedule an Email in Gmail on iPhone or Android

The steps to schedule an email in the Gmail app are the same for both iPhone and Android devices. Here’s how to do it on either platform:

Open the Gmail app.
Tap the “Compose” button to create a new email. Add the recipient(s), subject, and message content.
Tap the three vertical dots in the top-right corner of the screen.
Select Schedule send from the dropdown menu.
Choose a predefined date and time or set a custom schedule.

💡 Note: Regardless of the platform used, the recipient will not know that the email was scheduled.

How to Modify or Cancel Scheduled Emails

In both cases:

Click on Scheduled emails.
Select the email you want to modify or cancel.
Click Cancel send.

If you want to cancel the email, that’s it! The email will now move to your Drafts folder.

To modify the email, follow these steps:

Edit the email content as needed.
Click the small downward arrow next to the Send button and select Schedule send.
Set a new date and time, then click Schedule send.

💡 Tip: You can schedule up to 100 emails, as far as 49 years in advance.

Why Should I Schedule an Email?

Here are some scenarios where scheduling an email in Gmail can be beneficial:

👉 Get ahead on tasks
Example: You’re preparing a series of emails for a marketing campaign. Schedule them in advance to ensure they’re sent automatically on the right dates.

👉 Send emails across different time zones
Example: You work with a team based in Tokyo. Schedule your email to arrive during their business hours.

👉 Send emails outside working hours
Example: You finish a task at midnight but prefer the email to be sent at 9 AM the next day to align with professional hours.

👉 Allow time for reflection
Example: You’re frustrated by a situation. Schedule your email to be sent later, giving yourself time to revise your tone if needed.

👉 Maximize engagement
Example: You know your client checks their emails at 8 AM daily. Schedule your email to be sent at that time to increase the chances of a quick response, even if you’re in a meeting.

💡 Tip: Can’t find your unread emails in your Gmail inbox? We’ve written a comprehensive article on this issue, which can quickly become a daily annoyance.

Best Time to Send an Email

If you’re asking this question, you’re likely working in marketing, where timing is crucial for email campaigns aimed at clients or prospects.

Well-timed emails that land in your recipient’s inbox at the right moment can significantly boost both engagement and delivery rates.

Here’s what various studies suggest:

☀️ Best Day
According to studies by Sendinblue (2022), GetResponse (2022), and Omnisend (2022), Thursday is the most effective day to send emails. Mailjet (2020) found that emails sent between Tuesday and Thursday have the highest open rates.

🕓 Best Time
HubSpot (2020) recommends sending emails around 11 AM for optimal open rates. GetResponse (2022) and AWeber (2021) agree that mornings between 8 AM and 10 AM are effective. Omnisend (2022) adds that early afternoons around 1 PM can also work well, particularly for reminders or follow-ups.

👉Our advice: General rules should be fine-tuned based on your industry and goals. Don’t hesitate to experiment to find the time that offers the best open rates for you.

Expert Insight: How to Schedule an Email Campaign Using Mail Merge in Gmail

Gmail offers a mail merge feature, provided you have an eligible Google Workspace plan:

Workspace Individual
Business Standard and Business Plus
Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus
Education Standard and Education Plus

In other words, you need a paid plan to access this functionality.

Additionally, as stated in Google’s documentation, you can only send up to 1,500 emails per day using mail merge.

❓Is it worth it?

In my opinion, nothing beats a specialized tool like Mail Merge. It’s built for this purpose and does the job exceptionally well. Naturally, it’s compatible with both Gmail and Google Sheets, making your mail merge campaigns as smooth as possible.

The process of scheduling an email campaign is also incredibly simple.

I hope you’ve gained plenty of useful information.

And don’t forget, you can easily schedule your email marketing campaigns using the Mail Merge tool. It’s incredibly user-friendly—even when it comes to email tracking.

It’s an essential feature when sending emails to multiple recipients while ensuring the necessary level of personalization.

I’d even say it’s the best mail merge extension for Google Sheets.