Feb 26, 2026

How to Send Your Availability for a Meeting (Templates + Faster Way)

Someone asks when you’re free. Now you have to open your calendar, scan this week and next, figure out which slots make sense, type them all out, and send an email — knowing that half the times you suggest probably won’t work for them anyway.

Sending availability for a meeting is one of those tasks that feels like it should take 10 seconds but somehow eats 5 minutes. Here’s how to do it on every platform, plus templates you can copy and paste.

How to Send Availability in Outlook

Using the Scheduling Poll feature

This is the cleanest option in Outlook — instead of typing out times, you let people pick from options:

Open Outlook and create a new email
Add the person (or people) you’re scheduling with
Click Insert → Scheduling Poll
Select 3-5 time slots that work for you
Click Insert into email
The recipient gets an email with clickable time options

When they pick one, the event is automatically created on both calendars. No reply email needed.

Copy-pasting times from your Outlook calendar

If you’d rather just list times in an email:

Open your Outlook Calendar view
Switch to Work Week view to see your schedule
Identify 3-4 open blocks
Compose a new email and type them out (use the templates below)

You can also share a free/busy view directly:

Open your Calendar
Click Share Calendar in the ribbon
Choose the recipient
Set permissions to Can view when I’m busy
Click Send

They’ll see your availability blocks but not your event details.

How to Send Availability in Gmail / Google Calendar

Gmail doesn’t have a built-in scheduling poll like Outlook. Here are your options:

Check your calendar and email your times

Open Google Calendar in another tab
Scan the next 5-7 business days for open slots
Compose a new email in Gmail
List your available times (templates below)

Use Google Calendar’s Appointment Schedule

If you schedule a lot of meetings, set up a reusable booking page:

Open Google Calendar
Click Create → Appointment schedule
Set your available hours
Give it a title (e.g., “30-min meeting”)
Copy the booking link
Paste it in your email: “Here’s my availability — grab any time that works”

This creates a Calendly-like booking page built into Google Calendar. Free for personal Google accounts, included with Google Workspace.

Email Templates for Sending Your Availability

Template 1: Quick and Professional

Subject: Re: Finding a time to connect

Here are some times that work on my end:

Tuesday, March 4 at 10:00 AM EST

Wednesday, March 5 at 2:00 PM EST

Thursday, March 6 at 11:00 AM EST

Do any of these work? Happy to find alternatives if not.

Template 2: For a Recruiter or Interview

Subject: Re: Interview availability

Thank you for reaching out! I’m excited about the opportunity.

Here’s my availability for this week and next:

Monday, March 3 — 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM EST

Tuesday, March 4 — 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM EST

Wednesday, March 5 — 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM EST

Thursday, March 6 — 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM EST

I can be flexible on timing. Please let me know what works best on your end.

Template 3: Group Meeting

Subject: Re: Team sync — finding a time

Here are times I’m open this week:

Monday 3/3: 10-11am, 2-3pm EST

Tuesday 3/4: 11am-12pm, 3-4pm EST

Wednesday 3/5: 10-11am EST

Let me know which overlap with everyone’s schedules and I’ll send an invite.

Template 4: Open-Ended (When They Need Lots of Options)

Subject: Re: Let’s schedule a call

I’m generally available:

Mornings (9am-12pm EST): Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Afternoons (1pm-5pm EST): Tuesday, Thursday

Pick whatever works best for you and I’ll make it work.

How to Propose Meeting Times in Outlook (From a Meeting Invite)

If you want to propose times through a calendar invite rather than email:

Create a new meeting in Outlook
Add the attendee(s)
Click the Scheduling Assistant tab
Find a time when all attendees show as free
Select the time slot and send the invite

The Scheduling Assistant only works for people in your organization (or organizations that share free/busy data). For external contacts, you’ll need to email times directly — or share your calendar with them first.

Why Sending Availability Manually Doesn’t Scale

Typing out your availability works fine for one meeting. But if you’re scheduling 3-5 meetings per week with external people, you’re spending 20-30 minutes a week just copying time slots from your calendar into emails.

And the times you send are only accurate at the moment you check. If someone books a slot between when you send the email and when they reply, you’re double-booked.

Then there’s the back-and-forth. You send three times. None work. They send three times. One works but it’s on a day you just booked something else. You send three more. This can go on for days. (For groups, it’s even worse — see how to find a meeting time that works for everyone.)

Send Your Availability Automatically with Carly

Instead of checking your calendar, typing out times, and hoping for the best — you can have Carly do it for you.

CC carly@usecarly.com on any email where you’re trying to schedule. Carly reads the context, checks your real-time calendar, and sends availability on your behalf:

From: recruiter@techcompany.com Subject: Interview — next steps

We’d love to schedule a 45-minute video interview. What does your availability look like next week?

Instead of opening your calendar and typing out times, just forward the email to Carly (or CC her on your reply):

From: you@gmail.com To: recruiter@techcompany.com CC: carly@usecarly.com Subject: Re: Interview — next steps

Hi Rachel, Carly can find some times that work. She’ll follow up with options.

Carly replies with your actual availability:

From: carly@usecarly.com To: recruiter@techcompany.com Subject: Re: Interview — next steps

Here are some 45-minute windows that work:

Monday, March 3 at 10:00 AM EST

Tuesday, March 4 at 2:30 PM EST

Wednesday, March 5 at 11:00 AM EST

Click any time to confirm, or reply with a preference and I’ll adjust.

The recruiter picks a time. The meeting goes on your calendar. No manual work, no stale availability, no double-booking.

Where this really helps:

Job interviews — you’re often scheduling across 3-4 rounds with different people. Forward each to Carly and she handles all of them.
Sales calls — when a prospect asks for a meeting, Carly responds before you even see the email.
Client meetings — send availability without sharing your whole calendar or exposing internal events.
Cross-timezone scheduling — Carly automatically converts times to the other person’s timezone.

Quick Comparison

Method	Speed	Accuracy	Works externally
Type times in email	3-5 min	Only at the moment you check	Yes
Outlook Scheduling Poll	2 min	Real-time	Yes (with limitations)
Google Appointment Schedule	1 min (after setup)	Real-time	Yes
Booking link (Calendly, etc.)	30 sec	Real-time	Yes
Carly	10 sec	Real-time	Yes

The difference between the last two: a booking link requires the other person to visit a page and pick a time. Carly sends the times directly in the email thread — the other person just replies or clicks. No context switch, no extra tab.

Try Carly free → and stop typing out your availability.

Ready to automate your busywork?

Carly schedules, researches, and briefs you—so you can focus on what matters.

Get Carly Today →

Or try our Free Group Scheduling Tool