How to Find a Meeting Time That Works for Everyone
You need to get four people on a call. You check your calendar. You draft a message: “How does Tuesday at 2pm work?” Then you wait. One person can’t do Tuesday. Another can only do mornings. The third is in a different timezone and didn’t realize you meant EST.
Three days and twelve messages later, you still don’t have a meeting on the calendar.
Finding a meeting time shouldn’t be this hard. Here’s every method that actually works — from the simplest to the most automated.
Method 1: Send a Scheduling Poll
A scheduling poll lets you propose several time options and have everyone vote on what works. It’s the most popular approach for group scheduling.
Doodle
- Go to doodle.com and create an account (free tier available)
- Click Create a Doodle
- Add a title for your meeting
- Select several date/time options from the calendar
- Copy the poll link and send it to all participants
- Everyone marks which times work for them
- Pick the time with the most votes
Pros: Simple, no account needed for voters, everyone can see results. Cons: You still have to create the calendar event manually. Doesn’t check anyone’s actual calendar.
Microsoft Outlook Polls (FindTime)
If your team uses Outlook, Microsoft’s built-in scheduling poll is the easiest option:
- Open Outlook and compose a new email
- Add all meeting participants
- Click Insert → Scheduling Poll (or find it under the FindTime add-in)
- Select several possible times
- Send the email — recipients vote directly from the email
- Once everyone votes, click Schedule and Outlook creates the event
Pros: Built into Outlook, creates the event automatically. Cons: Only works well when everyone is on Outlook/Microsoft 365.
Google Calendar’s “Suggest a Time”
Google doesn’t have a built-in poll feature, but if everyone is on Google Workspace:
- Create a new event in Google Calendar
- Add all guests
- Click Suggested times (or Find a time tab)
- Google shows time slots where all attendees are free
- Pick one and save the event
Pros: No polling needed — it just checks everyone’s calendar. Cons: Only works when all participants are in the same Google Workspace organization. Doesn’t work for external contacts.
When2Meet
A lightweight alternative if you don’t want accounts or complexity:
- Go to when2meet.com
- Enter event name and select date range
- Share the link with participants
- Everyone drags across their available times on the grid
- The grid highlights overlapping availability
Pros: Fast, free, no sign-ups. Cons: Manual — you still need to create the event. The grid UI works best on desktop.
Method 2: Use Your Calendar’s Built-In Scheduling Tools
Outlook Scheduling Assistant
If you’re scheduling within your organization:
- Create a new meeting in Outlook
- Add attendees
- Click the Scheduling Assistant tab
- You’ll see a timeline showing everyone’s free/busy blocks
- Find a gap where everyone is free
- Set the time and send the invite
This works automatically for anyone in your Microsoft 365 organization. For external people, it only works if their organization publishes free/busy information — or if they’ve shared their calendar with you directly.
Google Calendar “Find a Time”
Same concept as above, for Google Workspace:
- Create a new event
- Add guests
- Click the Find a time tab
- Browse the calendar view to find a slot where no one has conflicts
- Click the open slot and save
Works for anyone in your Google Workspace org. External contacts will show as “no information available.”
Method 3: The Manual Email Approach
Sometimes you just need to email people and ask. Here’s how to do it without the usual chaos:
Instead of: “When works for you?”
Try: Propose 3-4 specific times, across different days and times of day.
Subject: Quick sync — picking a time
Need to get the four of us on a 30-minute call. Here are some options:
- Monday 3/3 at 10am EST
- Tuesday 3/4 at 2pm EST
- Wednesday 3/5 at 11am EST
- Thursday 3/6 at 4pm EST
Reply with which ones work and I’ll pick the one that fits everyone.
This narrows the conversation fast. Most of the time you’ll have a winner within one round of replies. (Need more templates? See our email templates for sending your availability.)
Tips for the manual approach:
- Always include the timezone
- Propose times across multiple days (not all on Tuesday)
- Mix morning and afternoon options
- Give a deadline: “Reply by end of day Thursday so I can lock it in”
Method 4: Scheduling Links (Calendly, Cal.com, etc.)
Scheduling links let someone pick from your open time slots directly:
- Set up a tool like Calendly or Cal.com
- Connect your calendar
- Configure your availability
- Share your booking link
- The other person picks an open slot and the event is created
Pros: No back-and-forth. Works for external contacts. Cons: Doesn’t work well for groups. Feels transactional — “click my link” can be awkward when you’re the one requesting the meeting. Only shows your availability, not theirs.
Method 5: Let AI Handle the Whole Thing
Every method above still requires you to do something: set up a poll, check the scheduling assistant, draft an email with times, or send a booking link.
With Carly, you just CC carly@usecarly.com on an email with everyone who needs to be in the meeting. Carly does the rest:
For a 1-on-1 meeting:
From: you@yourcompany.com To: jamie@designstudio.co CC: carly@usecarly.com Subject: Project review
Hey Jamie, let’s find 30 minutes to review the project. Carly can find a time.
Carly checks your calendar, proposes times to Jamie, and books the meeting when Jamie picks one.
For a group meeting:
From: you@yourcompany.com To: jamie@designstudio.co, alex@agency.com, sam@yourcompany.com CC: carly@usecarly.com Subject: Quarterly planning — finding a time
Hey all, need to get us on a call for 45 minutes. Carly will help find a time that works.
Carly reaches out to each person, collects availability, finds the overlap, and books the meeting with a video link. If someone’s schedule changes, Carly adapts.
No poll to set up. No link to share. No “when are you free?” thread. You send one email and Carly coordinates the rest — for internal or external contacts, regardless of what calendar platform anyone uses.
What makes it different from a scheduling link:
- You don’t send a link — Carly sends a natural email
- Works for groups, not just 1-on-1
- The other people don’t need to visit a booking page (though click-to-book links are available if you want them)
- Carly handles rescheduling and follow-ups automatically
Which Method Should You Use?
| Situation | Best method |
|---|---|
| 2-3 people, same organization | Calendar’s built-in scheduling assistant |
| 4+ people, same org | Outlook scheduling poll or Google “Find a time” |
| External contacts, 1-on-1 | Scheduling link or Carly |
| External contacts, group | Doodle poll, When2Meet, or Carly |
| You schedule a lot of meetings | Carly — one email handles everything |
| You just need this one meeting booked | Manual email with 3-4 proposed times |
The right tool depends on how often you’re doing this. If you schedule meetings every week with people outside your organization, automating it saves hours. If it’s a once-a-month thing, a simple email with proposed times works fine.
Try Carly free → and stop being the person who sends the “when works for everyone?” email.
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