Schedule a meeting by email with times that really work
Finding a time by email usually takes five replies. This prompt has your todo.is agent check your Google Calendar first, pick three free slots that suit the other person's time zone, and draft a short scheduling email. When they answer, it can add the event to your calendar with the video link and agenda.
The prompt
- Help me schedule a meeting by email with [PERSON AND EMAIL] about [TOPIC]. Check my Google Calendar for the next [DATE RANGE] and pick 3 free slots of [LENGTH] during [PREFERRED HOURS]. Avoid early mornings and late evenings in their time zone ([THEIR TIME ZONE]), and leave 15 minutes free before and after. Write a short, friendly email: why we should meet, a one-line agenda, the 3 options with dates and times in both time zones, and that I will send an invite once they pick one. Save it as a Gmail draft and show it to me. When they reply, tell me, and after I confirm, add the event to my Google Calendar with them as a guest and the agenda in the description.
What to change
- [PERSON AND EMAIL]: e.g. "Hiro Tanaka, hiro@tanaka-design.jp".
- [TOPIC]: e.g. "the website redesign kickoff".
- [DATE RANGE]: e.g. "2 weeks" or "between 20 and 24 October".
- [LENGTH]: e.g. "30 minutes" or "1 hour".
- [PREFERRED HOURS]: Your side, e.g. "9:00 to 17:00 on Tuesday to Thursday".
- [THEIR TIME ZONE]: e.g. "Tokyo" or "US Eastern". Delete it if they are in your time zone.
Example result
- Free slots found (Berlin time, 30 minutes)
- • Tue 21 Oct, 9:00 (Tokyo 16:00)
- • Wed 22 Oct, 8:30 (Tokyo 15:30)
- • Thu 23 Oct, 10:00 (Tokyo 17:00)
- All have 15 minutes free before and after, and none fall after 18:00 in Tokyo.
- Draft email (saved in Gmail)
- Subject: Website redesign kickoff: 30 minutes next week?
- Hi Hiro,
- Thanks again for the proposal. I would like to set up a short kickoff to agree on the timeline and the first pages to design.
- Agenda: goals for the redesign, page list and dates, and how we share feedback.
- Do any of these work for you?
- • Tuesday 21 October, 16:00 Tokyo / 9:00 Berlin
- • Wednesday 22 October, 15:30 Tokyo / 8:30 Berlin
- • Thursday 23 October, 17:00 Tokyo / 10:00 Berlin
- Once you pick one, I will send a calendar invite with a video link. If none fit, just suggest a time that suits you.
- Best regards,
- Clara
- After Hiro replies
- I will tell you which slot he chose. When you confirm, I add "Website redesign kickoff" to your Google Calendar with Hiro as a guest, a Google Meet link and the agenda above. I hold none of the slots until then, so double-check nothing new was booked in the meantime.
How to do it with todo.is
- Connect your Google account so your agent can read your Calendar and save Gmail drafts.
- Copy the prompt, add the person, topic, length and your preferred hours.
- Paste it into todo.is or send it to your agent on WhatsApp. Review the draft it saves and send it.
- When the reply comes in, confirm the time and your agent adds the event with the guest and agenda.
Tips for a better result
- Offer three options, not more. Fewer choices get faster answers.
- Always show both time zones in the email. It prevents the classic one-hour-off mistake.
- Put a one-line agenda in the first email. People accept meetings faster when they know what it is about.
- For groups, ask your agent to suggest times and include a simple "reply with all slots that work" line.
schedule a meeting by email: FAQ
- How do you schedule a meeting by email politely? Say why you want to meet, keep it short, offer two or three specific times in their time zone, and make it easy to suggest another time.
- Can the agent send the invite for me? Yes. After you confirm the time, it adds the event to your Google Calendar with the other person as a guest, so Google sends the invite.
- What if the other person proposes a different time? Tell your agent. It checks your calendar and drafts a reply accepting the time or offering the nearest free slot.
- Is this like a booking link? It is more personal. Instead of a public booking page, your agent picks a few good times and writes a normal email from you.
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