How to schedule a weekly meeting or game night

Look for a standing slot, not this week's date

A weekly group runs on habit. If the time moves every week, someone has to organize it every week, and that person burns out first. So the first poll should find the evening that's usually free for everyone.

Ask people to answer for a normal week. If someone has a one-off conflict on the Tuesday you're polling, they should still mark Tuesday as free if it's normally fine for them, or use "if need be."

Poll two weeks, with a realistic window

One week of dates gives you too few options and makes one-off conflicts look permanent. Two weeks shows which days stay open in both weeks, and those are your best candidates for a standing slot.

Set the time window around how long the thing actually runs. A game night that needs three hours should be polled with a three-hour length, so the result is a block everyone can stay for from start to finish. A weekly check-in can be 30 minutes or an hour.

Decide who's required before you send the link

Some people have to be there or the session doesn't happen. In a tabletop campaign that's usually the game master. In a meeting it's whoever runs it or makes the decisions. Mark those people as required.

Everyone else can be optional if the group still works without them. Agree on the smallest group you'll play or meet with, say four of five, before anyone answers. Then a time that works for four people counts as a win.

Set a deadline and nudge by name

Polls usually stall on one or two people who never answer. A deadline gives them a reason to, and a nudge in the group chat that names them works better than a general reminder that everyone ignores.

Keep the nudge short and friendly, with the link in it. "Sam, Priya: 30 seconds to add your times" is enough. If the deadline passes and a required person still hasn't answered, ask them directly before you lock anything.

Lock it, then make it repeat

Once the time is locked, everyone should put it in their calendar right away, while the link is in front of them. The calendar link adds a single event. Open it in your calendar app and set it to repeat weekly. Google Calendar, Outlook and Apple Calendar all have a repeat option on the event.

If you're the organizer, send one message in the chat with the day, time and place. People scroll past links, but they remember "Thursdays, 7 to 10, at Mina's."

Agree on what happens when someone can't make it

Every weekly group misses people. Settle two rules early, while everyone is still enthusiastic:

• The smallest group that still meets. Below that number, the session is off.
• The cancel time. Pick something like noon on the day, so nobody finds out on their way over.

For a campaign, it also helps to agree on what happens to a missing player's character. Some groups play them quietly in the background, others write them out for the night.

Re-poll when life changes

A slot that worked in September can fall apart in January when a semester, a shift pattern or a kid's practice schedule changes. If two or three sessions in a row are missing people, run a fresh poll instead of pushing through. A new poll takes a few minutes.

Doing it with whenzies

1. Make the pollPick two weeks of days, the window you'd actually meet in, and the length of a session. Add everyone's name and mark the ones who are required.
2. Send the linkDrop it in the group chat. People tap their name and drag across the times they're free, or mark them "if need be."
3. Nudge the stragglersThe poll shows who hasn't answered. Copy the nudge, which names them, and paste it into the chat.
4. Lock the standing slotIf more than one time works for everyone, pick the one you'd prefer to keep every week. Add it to your calendar and set it to repeat.