--- title: "How to schedule a poll to post later in Slack" url: "https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-schedule-a-poll-in-slack/" description: "Write a Slack poll now and have it post tomorrow morning or next Monday. Schedule from the /poll command or the poll form, then edit or cancel it." --- # How to schedule a poll in Slack A scheduled poll is written now and posted later, at a time when people will see it: Monday at 9am rather than Friday at 6pm. Simple Poll can schedule a poll from the `/poll` text or from the poll form. Scheduling is a Premium feature, though it also works on Free for the whole of December. This page covers posting a poll once, later. To post the same poll every week, see [recurring polls](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-create-a-recurring-poll-in-slack/). ## Steps 1. **Write the poll as usual** In the channel where it should post, write the question and options in double quotes. 2. **Add schedule and a time at the very end** Finish the command with `schedule` and when to post: `/poll "Lunch on Friday?" "Pizza" "Tacos" "Salads" schedule tomorrow 9am`. Keep `schedule ...` last, after every other setting. 3. **Or use the Schedule button in the form** Type `/poll` on its own and press Enter. Fill in the poll, click **Schedule**, pick the **Send time** and **Send date**, leave **Repeat** on **No**, and click **Save**. Then click **Preview** and **Schedule Poll**. 4. **Check the confirmation** Simple Poll sends you a confirmation message. Find it by clicking Simple Poll in your sidebar and opening the **Messages** tab. 5. **Edit or cancel before it posts** In that confirmation, click **Edit Poll**. Under **Scheduling**, **Edit schedule** changes the time and **Stop schedule** cancels it. Only you, as the creator, can do this. ## Example polls Paste any of these into the message box in Slack. ```text /poll "Lunch on Friday?" "Pizza" "Tacos" "Salads" schedule tomorrow 9am ``` Posts tomorrow at 9am in your Slack timezone (Premium; works on Free in December). *Premium: scheduled posting.* ```text /poll "Which retro format for this sprint?" "Start, stop, continue" "Sailboat" "Free discussion" limit 1 close after 1 day remind 2 hours before closing schedule tomorrow 9am ``` Posts tomorrow morning, closes 24 hours later, with a reminder before it closes (Premium). *Premium: vote limits, closing automatically, reminders, scheduled posting.* ```text /poll "Agenda for the planning session" "Add topics and vote on the ones that matter." close after 1 day schedule 15:00 --- "Which topics should we cover?" "Q3 hiring" "Release cadence" "On-call rota" --- "Anything else?" short text optional ``` A short agenda survey scheduled for 15:00 (Premium). *Premium: surveys (several questions), closing automatically, scheduled posting.* ## Times the /poll text understands - A day and a time: `schedule tomorrow 9am`. - Just a time: `schedule 15:00`. - A full date and time: write it with the year, month and day, then the time, like `schedule 2030-01-15 14:00`, adding a UTC offset such as `+01:00` when the timezone matters. A time without an offset uses your Slack timezone, so set one in your Slack profile first. A zone name like `PST` doesn't change the timezone, so use an offset when you schedule for a team in another zone. A time in the past won't work. Put `schedule ...` at the end. A setting written after it can be read as part of the time. ## When to post Post when people are at their desks and before the decision is due. Start of the working day beats end of it, and Monday morning beats Friday afternoon. For a distributed team, pick a time that falls inside working hours for most time zones, and give the poll at least a full day with `close after 1 day` so everyone gets a turn. ## Combine it with a deadline and a reminder A scheduled poll still needs an end. Add `close after 1 day` (or whatever fits the decision), and `remind 2 hours before closing` to repost the poll at the bottom of the channel before it ends. ## FAQ ### Can I schedule a poll for free? Scheduling is Premium, with one exception: every December, scheduling works on Free too, from the `/poll` text or the form. Start a 14-day trial with `/simplepoll trial`, or see [pricing](https://simplepoll.rocks/pricing/). ### Which timezone does the scheduled time use? Your own Slack timezone, unless you give an offset such as `+01:00` or a time ending in `Z` for UTC. ### Can I change the time after scheduling? Yes, until it posts. Open the confirmation in Simple Poll's **Messages** tab, click **Edit Poll**, then **Edit schedule**. ### Can I schedule a poll to repeat? Not from the text. Use the **Schedule** button in the poll form to set a repeat. See [recurring polls](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-create-a-recurring-poll-in-slack/). ## Related - [How to create a recurring poll in Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-create-a-recurring-poll-in-slack/): A recurring poll posts itself on a schedule you set, such as every Monday at 10am. You write it once and Simple Poll reposts it, so your weekly pulse or standup check-in never depends on someone remembering. Recurring polls are a Premium feature. - [How to close a Slack poll automatically](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-close-a-slack-poll-automatically/): A poll that never closes never quite decides anything: votes trickle in, the result shifts, and nobody knows when to act. An automatic close fixes the deadline up front. In Simple Poll you add close after and a duration, and the poll closes on its own. Automatic closing is a Premium feature; anyone can close their own poll by hand. - [How to use the /poll command in Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-use-the-poll-slash-command/): /poll is Simple Poll's slash command. Typed on its own, it opens the poll form. Typed with a question, options and a few keywords, it builds the whole poll in one line, shows you a preview, and posts it. This page is the reference for the one-line version. - [Team lunch poll for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/team-lunch/): When you are organising a team lunch or a food order and need a decision before someone has to book or order. - [Meeting agenda topics poll for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/meeting-agenda-topics/): A day or two before a team meeting, planning session or one-to-one series, so the agenda reflects what people need to discuss rather than what the organiser remembered. ## Sources - [How can I schedule a poll to be posted at a later time?](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/102-how-can-i-schedule-a-poll-to-be-posted-at-a-later-time) - [How can I edit the send time and date of a scheduled poll that has not been posted yet?](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/112-how-can-i-edit-the-send-time-and-date-of-a-scheduled-or-recurring-poll-that-hasn-t-been-posted-yet) - [How can I stop a scheduled poll that has not been posted yet?](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/113-how-can-i-stop-a-scheduled-or-recurring-poll-that-hasnt-been-posted-yet-from-being-posted) --- Simple Poll is the #1 polls and surveys app for Slack. Add it to Slack: https://simplepoll.rocks/. Pricing: https://simplepoll.rocks/pricing/.