Slack has finally added scheduled messages, a long-requested feature. If Slack is your platform of choice for business communications, you’ll be pleased to know that you can now text and have it delivered whenever you want. This feature will be especially useful for teammates working in different time zones. That said, here’s how to schedule messages in Slack using the desktop and mobile apps.
How to Schedule Loose Messages (2021)
As of writing this article, Slack is gradually rolling out the feature to its users. Therefore, you may not immediately see the option to schedule messages to be sent later in your workspace. Having said that, here’s how you can check if the feature is right for you and use it to schedule messages.
Schedule Messages Using the Slack Desktop App (Windows, Mac and Linux)
1. Open the Slack channel or chat window of the person you want to message and write the message. After typing the message, Next to the “Send” button you will see a new down arrow icon.
2. Click the down arrow and set your preferred time to send the message. Slack will give you a few default options, but you can also choose a custom time to send the message.
note: The schedule message feature shows different default options depending on the time of day. For example, when I’m composing the message at 11:00 on Friday, I see the options “today at 1:00 PM” and “Monday at 9:00 am”. It also takes weekends into account.
3. You can Click on “Private time” To access the date and time picker, all you have to do here is to select a date and time of your choice and click “Program Message“.
Schedule Messages on Slack Using the Mobile App (Android and iOS)
If you’re away from your computer and prefer to schedule a message from your phone, you can do that too. Here’s how to schedule messages using the Slack mobile apps on Android and iOS.
1. Open the slack chat or channel and write your message. After doing this, Press and hold the “Send” button until the message scheduling UI opens.
2. Then you can choose your preferred date and time to send the message, just like the desktop app. Here you also have the option to choose one of the default suggestions or set a custom time. Press the “Schedule Message” button when you’re done.
3. When you schedule a message, you will see a confirmation prompt at the bottom of the channel or chat window. – “Your message will be sent [channel] or [chat name] also [date, time]”
Manage Scheduled Messages on Slack
You can access all your scheduled messages in two ways. You can click the “See all scheduled messages” option in the channel/DM window or go to the “Scheduled” section from the sidebar.
After scheduling a message, Slack lets you take five actions. You can edit the message, reschedule, send it immediately, or cancel the schedule and move it to drafts. Finally, if you don’t want to send the program message, you can delete it as well. That’s how easy it is to use the new scheduled messages feature in Slack.
Send Scheduled Messages on Slack in Easy Steps
That’s our short and sweet guide on how to schedule messages in Slack. So yes, if you want to notify your colleague of changes to a draft or design that you find while working overtime, you can now schedule a message to notify your colleague the next day at the earliest. If you’re looking for more ways to schedule messages, check out our articles on how to schedule text messages on Android and iPhone. You can also schedule emails in Gmail or Apple Mail and schedule WhatsApp messages as well.
