Meeting poll / Tips
How to find a meeting time that works for everyone
The quickest way to schedule a group is to ask everyone when they are free, all at once, in one place. Here is how to get fast, useful answers and settle on a time without a long chat thread.
Offer a real window, not every possibility
Give people a short, realistic set of options: the next week or two, and only the hours that could actually work. A poll with five days and a few hours each gets answered in a minute. A poll covering a whole month from 6 in the morning to midnight gets ignored.
Ask when people are free, not what they prefer
"Mark every time you could make it" gives you more overlap than "pick your favourite time". You want the largest set of possibilities, so you can find the time where the most people overlap.
Send one link, with a deadline
Post the link in the group chat with a clear deadline: "Please answer by Thursday evening." Two days is usually enough. Then remind the people who haven't answered yet, by name if it is a small group.
Choose the time
- Start with the times that suit the most people; the poll lists them for you.
- If two times tie, check who is missing from each: some people are harder to replace than others (the speaker, the person with the keys).
- Prefer earlier dates: plans made far ahead tend to change.
- Announce the time where everyone will see it, and add it to your calendar straight away.
People in different time zones
Create the poll in the time zone where most people are, or where the meeting happens. People elsewhere see each time in their own zone too. Watch for times that fall at night for someone, and say in the description which zone you mean.
Weekly meetings
For a study group, a club or a regular call, ask about days of the week instead of dates. Everyone marks their usual free times once, and the best slot works week after week.
Trips, weekends and events
When the question is which day, not which hour, ask about whole days. Everyone taps the days they are free, and you see at once which weekend works.
A message you can copy
"Hi all! Let's find a time for our next meeting. Please mark every time you could make it by Thursday evening: [link]. It takes a minute and you don't need an account."