What is Async Scheduling?
Asynchronous scheduling means coordinating and making decisions without requiring everyone to be present at the same time.
Synchronous (Real-time)
Everyone joins at the same time. Examples: meetings, calls, video conferences.
Asynchronous (Any-time)
People participate when it works for them. Examples: polls, documents, recorded videos.
Why Async Scheduling Matters
Global teams can actually function
When your team spans 12 timezones, there's no "good" meeting time. Someone is always joining at midnight. Async removes this problem entirely.
Deep work isn't interrupted
Meetings fragment the day. Async allows people to handle coordination during natural breaks, preserving blocks of focused work time.
Better thought-out responses
In meetings, people feel pressure to respond immediately. Async gives time to think, research, and provide more valuable input.
Automatic documentation
Async communication is written by nature. No more "what did we decide in that meeting?" because everything is already documented.
When to Use Async vs. Sync
✅ Go Async When:
- • Collecting availability or votes
- • Sharing status updates
- • Reviewing documents or proposals
- • Making decisions with clear options
- • Gathering feedback or input
- • Information doesn't need immediate response
- • Participants are in different timezones
📞 Go Sync When:
- • Brainstorming and creative sessions
- • Complex problem-solving
- • Sensitive or emotional topics
- • Building relationships (especially new teams)
- • Resolving conflicts or misunderstandings
- • Urgent issues needing immediate action
- • When quick back-and-forth is needed
Async Scheduling Tools & Techniques
📊 Scheduling Polls
Instead of "let me check everyone's calendar" meetings, send a poll. People vote when they can. You get results without coordinating a time.
Use for: Finding meeting dates, choosing dates for events, gauging availability
📹 Recorded Video Updates
Record a 5-minute video update instead of holding a 30-minute meeting. People watch on their schedule, at 1.5x speed if they want.
Use for: Status updates, demos, walkthroughs, announcements
📄 Decision Documents
Write up a proposal with clear options. People comment and vote asynchronously. Make the decision when enough input is collected.
Use for: Product decisions, process changes, budget approvals
💬 Threaded Discussions
Use Slack threads, Discord channels, or forum-style tools for ongoing discussions. Conversations persist and people can catch up when they're online.
Use for: Ongoing topics, Q&A, collaborative problem-solving
How Scheduling Polls Enable Async
Scheduling polls are the perfect example of async in action. Here's the old way vs. the async way:
❌ The Sync Way
"Let's have a quick meeting to find a time for our planning session."
→ You just scheduled a meeting to schedule a meeting. 🤦
✅ The Async Way
"I've created a poll with some options. Please vote by Thursday."
→ Takes 10 seconds per person. No meeting needed.
This is why tools like Shareaslot exist. You propose dates, share a link, and everyone votes when it's convenient for them. The scheduling process itself becomes asynchronous.
Best Practices for Async Scheduling
Set clear deadlines
"Please vote by Friday at 5pm" is better than "please vote when you can." Without deadlines, async drags on forever.
Over-communicate context
In a meeting, you can clarify on the spot. Async doesn't have that luxury. Include all the context someone needs to participate without asking questions.
Make it easy to participate
The harder it is to contribute, the fewer responses you'll get. Use simple tools (like a quick poll) over complex processes.
Follow up deliberately
Send one reminder before the deadline. After the deadline, summarize the outcome and share next steps. Close the loop.
Know when to switch to sync
If an async discussion stalls or becomes confusing, call a quick meeting to resolve it. Async isn't dogma—use the right tool for the situation.
The Hybrid Approach
The most effective teams combine async and sync strategically:
Async first: Gather input, share context, collect votes
Sync for crunch time: Meet briefly to make the final decision
Async follow-up: Document the decision and share action items
This way, meetings are short and focused, and async handles the rest.