Since I’m generally considered irrational, hot-headed, and wildly impulsive, I occasionally send e-mail that you might argue lacks tact. What I need is some sort of automated cool-down period before my messages leave the outbox. My prayers are answered: It’s easy to delay sending Outlook e-mail by a few minutes.
A video tutorial at Office Online show you how to delay sending a single e-mail (great for writing a message ahead of time and ensuring it gets transmitted on schedule). In Office 2007, just click the Options tab and then use the Delay Delivery settings to specify the delay.
A second video shows how to create a rule that delays every message you send by some number of minutes you specify. Adding a 5-minute buffer to every e-mail, for example, gives you a chance to double check your spelling and your diplomacy before the world sees it. To do that, choose Tools, then Rules and Alerts, and, in a new rule, choose Apply this rule after I send the message and then add Defer delivery by a number of minutes. Specify the delay, and you’re done.
