I spotted this in the news and it got me thinking.

The Victorian Police Force Union recently won the right to disconnect. It “directs managers to respect leave and rest days and avoid contacting officers outside work hours, unless in an emergency or to check on their welfare. The aim is to shift the “always-on” culture so that officers can switch off from work after they have finished their shift.”

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-06/right-to-disconnect-gives-workers-their-lives-back/100040424

Many of us have got into the habit of sending an out of hours email for people to read the next morning or on their next shift. We might not be expecting an immediate response but they will probably get a notification on their phone or computer, putting them back into work mode when they should be focusing on important things like the plot of Bridgerton. This was worse during 2020 when the line between work and home was already blurred for people working from home.

But it’s actually very easy to knock up that email now and send it later using Gmail schedule send and Outlook Delivery Delay.

Gmail Schedule send

  • In your new email click the up arrow next to the Send button (don’t click Send)
  • Click Schedule send
  • Select one of the presets (morning, afternoon or night) or manually set a date and time.
Gmail schedule send button


Outlook Delivery Delay

Delay delivery is a bit harder to find.

  • In your new email, click on Options
  • Click on
  • Click on Delay Delivery
Outlook Delay delivery instruction
  • Got to Delivery Options
  • Click on Do not deliver before, and set the date and time
Outlook Delay delivery dialog box