A group scheduling poll is a shared page listing several candidate dates, where each person marks which ones they can make. Who can when? creates one in about a minute: you enter what it is for, pick some dates, and share the link. Answers appear in a grid so the best date is obvious, and nobody needs an account to take part.
Why a poll beats a thread
A group chat asking "when is everyone free?" produces a thread. Someone answers with a week, someone answers with a day, two people answer for each other, and one person answers a question nobody asked. Then it scrolls away.
A poll produces a grid. Everyone answers the same question in the same shape, the answers stack up in one place, and the count under each date does the deciding for you.
Setting one up
- Name it so people know what they are answering about. "Q3 planning" beats "meeting".
- Offer three to six dates. Fewer and you will miss; many more and people start skimming.
- Send it once, to everyone, in the place they actually read.
- Give a deadline. "By Thursday" moves twice as many people as no date at all.
- Pick and announce. One tap sends everyone the final date with a calendar invitation.
Reading the results
Each date shows a count of yes, maybe and no, and the leading date is marked. Maybe is worth having: it separates "that is awkward but I will make it work" from "that is a no", and on a tight week that distinction is what decides it.
If nobody can make anything, you can add dates to a running poll and everyone who already answered is told once, in a single message rather than one per date.
Options worth knowing about
- Hide results until answered, so nobody copies the crowd.
- Let participants add dates if you would rather ask than guess.
- Turn off maybe when you want a straight yes or no.
- Turn off comments if the thread is the thing you are escaping.
Common questions
- How many dates can I propose?
- Up to 20 in one date poll. Three to six is usually the sweet spot for getting answers.
- Can people add their own dates?
- Yes, if you switch it on. Participants can then propose dates and remove ones they added themselves, but not anyone else's.
- Can I stop people seeing the answers before they vote?
- Yes. Turn on "hide results until answered" and each person sees the grid only once they have answered it.
- What if I lose the link?
- If you gave an email address, we sent your organizer link to you. If you did not, the site remembers recent date polls on the device you made them on, and you can also recover them by email address.
Ready when you are
The basics
What a date poll is, and how to run one that people actually answer.
Related
- A free Doodle alternative A free alternative for scheduling a group. Propose dates, share one link, everyone marks yes, maybe or no. No account for you, none for them, and no paid tier.
- Find a date everyone can make Stop guessing which evening works. Propose a handful of dates, share one link, and let everyone mark when they can. Free, no account, answers in minutes.
- Scheduling a team dinner Organising the team dinner? Propose a few evenings, send one link, and see who can make which. Free, no account, and the calendar invitation sends itself.
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.
- How to get people to actually answer your date poll Most people who do not answer a scheduling poll are not refusing - they hit friction. Here is where the drop-off happens and what removes it.
Or see everything we have written in one list.