--- url: https://pencel.ai/docs/guides/scheduling-automation.md description: >- Have Pencel do work on its own on a regular rhythm, from a room's background checks and routines to a workflow's own schedule. --- # Run work on a schedule Use this when you want Pencel to do something regularly without being asked, like checking your inbox every 30 minutes or writing a report every Monday. There are three ways to set it up. Start with the first one that fits. ::: info Pencel needs to be running Scheduled work happens only while Pencel is open and your computer is awake. If your laptop is closed, the work picks up after you open Pencel again. ::: ## 1. Let a room check in the background The simplest option. The room looks for anything new on a regular interval and tells you only when something needs you. 1. Open the room and click its name at the top to open its settings. 2. Go to the **Schedule** tab. 3. Under **Background checks**, turn on **Work in the background**. In an inbox room this checks new mail, posts what it finds in the chat and finishes reply drafts it started. In other rooms it prepares documents toward the room's goal. 4. Next to **Check**, choose how often: **Every 15 minutes**, **Every 30 minutes**, **Every hour**, **Every 4 hours** or **Daily** (then pick a time). 5. Press **Check now** if you want a check right away. The line under the setting shows when the room last checked and when it will check next. A check waits if the room is already working or waiting on an answer from you. **Email Chief of Staff** turns its background checks on for you once Gmail is connected, every 30 minutes by default. ### Pause a whole room At the top of the **Schedule** tab, click **Pause room** and confirm with **Pause**. All of the room's scheduled work holds until you click **Resume**. Your on and off choices are kept exactly as they were, and anything already running finishes normally. While a room is paused, a note in the room says its schedules are holding, with a **Resume** button. ## 2. Turn a room's routines on or off A room's **routines** are the standing jobs it does on its own. You'll find them under **Schedule ▸ Routines**. They include: * The room's **responsibilities**, set up when the room was created (for example "check for new bids each weekday morning"). Each row shows which teammate owns it, how often it runs, and when it last ran. * **Routines from a ready-made Room**, like the RFP daily scan or the Daily Morning Brief. * **Routines you added** with **+ Add routine ↗**, or with **Build** in the room's message box. For each routine you can: * Use its switch to turn it on or off. * Press **Run now** to run it immediately. * Press **Re-accept plan** if a responsibility shows as blocked. You can't change how often a responsibility runs after the room is created. You can only turn it on or off. If you need a different rhythm, add a routine with **+ Add routine ↗** and describe the schedule you want. If a routine you built yourself has no working switch, click its name. It opens in Studio, where you can change or pause its schedule (see section 3). ### Daily runs for RFP Operations and Morning Stock Watch These two ready-made rooms don't run every day until you say so. * **RFP Operations**: in the room, answer the **Daily scan** card with **Run daily**, or click **Search every morning** just above the message box. * **Morning Stock Watch**: press **Run daily** when Pencel asks, right after you install it or in the room. It needs your tickers first. Until you've saved them, it tells you "Add your tickers first." You can turn either one off later in **Schedule ▸ Routines**. ## 3. Schedule a workflow in Studio Use this for full control over the day and time, or for a workflow that doesn't belong to a room. 1. Go to **Studio ▸ Workflows** and open the workflow. 2. Click the **Schedule** tab. **Current schedule** shows what's set now and whether it's **Active** or **Paused**. 3. Under **Edit schedule**, choose **Manual** (only when you run it), **Daily**, **Weekly** or **Monthly**. * **Daily**: set the **Time of day**. * **Weekly**: pick the day of the week. * **Monthly**: pick the day of the month. * Weekly and monthly runs start at 9 AM on the day you pick. 4. Under **Output destination**, choose where results go: **Workspace** (saved to Documents, in a folder you can name), **Email**, **Slack**, or **Pulse**, which posts the result to Home. (Pulse is the old name for part of Home.) 5. Under **Approval policy**, choose **Unattended** for work that runs while you're away. Anything that would send or change something is held back unless you've already approved it. 6. Click **Save schedule**. To stop a schedule for a while without editing it, go to **Studio ▸ Jobs**, open the workflow and click **Pause schedule**. Click **Resume schedule** to start it again. If a daily, weekly or monthly workflow was due while Pencel was closed, it runs once when you open Pencel again. It doesn't run once for every day it missed. ## Good to know * **Quiet when nothing is new.** Rooms don't post "nothing to report" messages. A background check that finds nothing new uses no credits, and in Jobs a run that found nothing new shows as **No updates**. * **It still asks first.** Scheduled work doesn't send an email, post a message or change a record without your approval, unless you gave a standing approval with **Always Allow**. See [Approvals and permissions](https://pencel.ai/docs/privacy-and-security/approval-workflows.html). * **It uses credits.** Choose sensible intervals, and give busy rooms a monthly budget. See [Control what you spend](https://pencel.ai/docs/guides/managing-costs.html). * **A room without a schedule.** If you turn off every routine in a room that's meant to run regularly, the room shows a note with **Open Rhythm**, which takes you back to the Schedule tab. ## Related * [Turn a request into a routine](https://pencel.ai/docs/guides/run-and-build.html) * [Team and rooms](https://pencel.ai/docs/concepts/programs.html) * [Check on scheduled work](https://pencel.ai/docs/guides/monitoring-runs.html) * [Control what you spend](https://pencel.ai/docs/guides/managing-costs.html)