How to stop a scheduled email in outlook

Last Updated: Feb 26, 2024 by

We’ve all been there – you’ve just hit “send” on an email and immediately realize you’ve made a mistake. Maybe you forgot to attach a crucial document or you accidentally sent the email to the wrong recipient. In the past, there was no way to stop a sent email, but with the latest version of Outlook, you can now schedule emails to be sent at a later time. This feature can be a lifesaver, but what if you need to stop a scheduled email in Outlook? Here’s how to do it.

Preventing Scheduled Emails in Outlook

Before we dive into how to stop a scheduled email, let’s first go over how to prevent them from being sent in the first place. When composing an email in Outlook, you can schedule it to be sent at a later time by clicking on the “Options” tab and selecting “Delay Delivery.” From there, you can choose the date and time you want the email to be sent. However, if you want to prevent the email from being sent at all, simply uncheck the box next to “Do not deliver before” and the email will be sent immediately.

Stopping a Scheduled Email

If you’ve already scheduled an email to be sent and need to stop it, don’t panic. There is a way to do it. First, go to your “Outbox” folder in Outlook. This is where all your scheduled emails are stored before they are sent. Find the email you want to stop and open it. Then, click on the “Options” tab and select “Delay Delivery” again. This will bring up the same window where you can schedule the email to be sent. However, this time, you will see a new option – “Do not deliver before.” Check this box and change the date and time to a time in the past. This will essentially cancel the scheduled send and the email will not be sent.

Email Management

The ability to stop a scheduled email in Outlook is not only useful for preventing mistakes, but it can also help with email management. If you have a lot of emails to send and want to spread them out throughout the day, you can schedule them to be sent at different times. But if your schedule changes and you no longer want the emails to be sent at those times, you can easily stop them and reschedule for a more convenient time.

Other Tips for Outlook Email Management

In addition to scheduling and stopping emails, there are other ways to manage your emails in Outlook. You can create rules to automatically sort and organize your emails, set up folders to keep your inbox clutter-free, and use the “Sweep” feature to quickly delete or move multiple emails at once. Taking advantage of these features can help you stay on top of your inbox and make email management a breeze.

By following these tips, you can easily stop a scheduled email in Outlook and prevent any potential mistakes or mishaps. Have you ever needed to stop a scheduled email? Let us know in the comments.

Gulrukh Ch

About the Author: Gulrukh Ch

Gulrukh Chaudhary, an accomplished digital marketer and technology writer with a passion for exploring the frontiers of innovation. Armed with a Master's degree in Information Technology, Gulrukh seamlessly blends her technical prowess with her creative flair, resulting in captivating insights into the world of emerging technologies. Discover more about her on her LinkedIn profile.