Decide when to meet with a group poll
Put the candidate times in a poll, send one link, and let the answers decide when to meet instead of the loudest reply in the thread.
How to decide when to meet
Narrow the window first
Pick the week or two the meeting has to land in. A poll that spans a month invites answers people will not honour by the time it is decided.
Offer the slots you can host
Add three to six concrete times at the length the meeting needs. Proposing only what you can staff avoids agreeing on a slot you then have to withdraw.
Let everyone answer on their phone
Each person opens the link and marks Yes, Maybe or No per slot, without an account or an app. Answering on a phone is what makes a full response realistic.
Lock the answer
Lock the slot with the strongest support and everyone exports it to their calendar from the confirmation page.
Why a poll works better than a thread
- The decision is visible: the slot with the most Yes answers is the answer, so nobody has to arbitrate.
- Silence stops being ambiguous, because you can see exactly who has not answered and nudge only them.
- Maybe captures the real state of most calendars, where a conflict is movable if the meeting matters enough.
- Everyone reads the times in their own time zone, removing a common cause of missed calls.
- The whole round takes one message instead of a thread that runs for days.
Put your times in a poll
Tap a few times on a calendar, share one link and let the group vote.
Decisions this fits
Recurring meeting time
Poll once to find the weekly slot the group can hold, then set the repeat in your own calendar.
One-off cross-team session
People whose calendars you cannot see and who do not share a scheduling system.
Time-critical decisions
Something that must happen this week, where waiting for replies is the real risk.
Mixed internal and external groups
Colleagues, clients and partners answering the same question in one place.
Questions about deciding when to meet
How many time slots should I propose?
Three to six works best. Fewer leaves no room to agree, and more makes people skim and answer carelessly, which produces a result you cannot trust.
What if no slot works for everyone?
Look at where the Maybe answers sit. A slot with one Maybe is usually solvable with a direct message, which is faster than running a second poll.
Do people need an account to answer?
No. Anyone with the link can vote after adding their name. Only the organizer signs in.
Can I see who has not answered?
Yes. Responses appear as they arrive, so you can remind the specific people still missing.
Does it work across time zones?
Yes. Each person sees every slot converted to their own time zone automatically.
Other ways to schedule with Decider
- Date pollRun a free date poll to pick the day a group can agree on, for anything from a dinner to a workshop.
- Online scheduling toolA free online scheduler for group meetings: propose times, share one link, and let everyone vote without signing up.
- Google schedulingHow to agree on a group meeting time with a poll and then add it to Google Calendar.
- Free scheduler appA free scheduler for group meetings that runs in the browser, with no install and no ads for guests.
Settle when to meet
Send one link, and the people you invite can answer without an account.