How to find a meeting time that works for everyone

Proposing a time and waiting for replies works for two people. With five or more, every reply can invalidate the last suggestion, people answer old messages, and the person organising ends up holding a spreadsheet in their head.

The fix is to flip the order. Instead of the organiser guessing times and the group rejecting them, the group says when they're free and the time falls out of the overlap.

1. 01Decide the meeting length and a realistic window, such as "45 minutes, sometime in the next two weeks, working hours". A clear window gets faster answers.
2. 02Choose how people answer. If you have no idea when people are free, ask them to mark their availability. If you already have two or three workable options, ask them to vote.
3. 03Send one link to everyone, with a deadline. A deadline gives people a reason to answer now rather than later.
4. 04Check the overlap. Look for slots where everyone is free first, then slots where only optional people are missing.
5. 05Confirm and send a single calendar invite with the location or video link, so nobody has to copy details into their calendar.

With alignd, steps 4 and 5 are automatic: slots are ranked by how many people can make them, and confirming one sends the invite to every guest.

• Use availability (people paint their free time) when calendars are busy and unknown, for example a board meeting, a workshop or an interview panel.
• Use voting (yes, maybe, no on a few options) when you already know the realistic slots, for example a team social or a client call.

Our guide to poll types goes into more detail.

• Separate required and optional people. A slot that suits every required person is usually good enough.
• Widen the window by a week, or allow early morning or late afternoon slots if people are in different time zones.
• Shorten the meeting. A 30-minute slot is often available where 60 minutes isn't.
• Split it. Two shorter sessions with overlapping attendees can beat one meeting nobody can make.

• Asking people to sign up for an account before they can answer. Every extra step loses responses.
• Offering too many options in a vote. Five or six is plenty.
• Forgetting time zones. Always let people answer in their own zone.
• Not sending a proper invite at the end. A time agreed in chat is easily forgotten.