A calendar poll proposes several dates to a group, collects who can make each, and ends by putting the winning date in everyone's calendar. Who can when? does all three: the poll is free and needs no account, and picking the final date emails everyone who left an address with a calendar file attached, so the agreement becomes an actual diary entry.
The step everyone skips
Deciding is the satisfying part, so it feels like the end. It is not. About ten days later the people who agreed have no record of agreeing, because the decision lives in a chat thread nobody is going to scroll back through.
The calendar entry is what makes a date real. Sending it should be part of picking, not a separate job you remember on the day.
What gets sent
- An email to everyone who gave an address, saying which date won.
- A calendar file attached, so one tap adds it to any calendar app.
- The title, time and location from the poll itself, not just a bare date.
- A link back to the poll, which keeps showing the final date for anyone who asks later.
No calendar connection needed
Nothing reads anyone's diary and nothing asks for permission to. The poll asks people what they can make, and the file goes out at the end. That keeps the whole thing answerable by someone who would never grant calendar access to a website they had not heard of an hour ago.
Common questions
- Which calendar apps does the file work with?
- It is a standard .ics file, which Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook and everything else accept.
- What if someone did not give an email address?
- They will not get the email, but the poll page keeps showing the final date and there is a calendar file on it they can download.
- Can I change the date afterwards?
- Yes. Reopen the poll or pick a different date, and everyone is told again.
Ready when you are
The basics
What a date poll is, and how to run one that people actually answer.
Related
- Meeting poll Send one meeting poll instead of eight emails. Propose the dates, everyone marks what they can make, and the winner is the one with the most yeses.
- Christmas party scheduling December fills up faster than any other month. Propose your dates early, share one link, and get the answer before the good evenings are gone.
- Workshop date poll A workshop needs a whole day from a lot of people. Propose a few, find out who can really give you the day, and book the room once.
Read next
- How to schedule a meeting with a group A short, practical method for getting a group of people onto one date: how many options to offer, how far ahead to ask, and how to close it out.
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