The Wait For node pauses contacts until a specific day-and-time window is reached. Use it to ensure actions like email sends, Slack messages, or webhook calls happen at optimal times — for example, weekday mornings in the recipient’s local timezone.
Configuration
Days of the week
Select one or more days when contacts are allowed to proceed. All seven days are enabled by default. Narrow the selection to control delivery timing — for example, select only Monday through Friday for business-hours workflows.
Time of day
Choose one of two time modes:
| Mode | Description |
|---|
| At | Contacts proceed at an exact time (e.g., 9:00 AM). All contacts pass through simultaneously. |
| Between | Contacts proceed at a random time within a window (e.g., 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM). The system distributes contacts evenly across the window to reduce sending spikes and improve email deliverability. |
Use the Between mode for email-heavy workflows. Random distribution across a time window prevents large batches of emails from being sent at the exact same second, which can trigger spam filters or cause deliverability issues.
Timezone
Choose how timezones are handled:
| Option | Description |
|---|
| Recipient’s timezone with fallback | Uses the contact’s local timezone when available. If the contact’s timezone is unknown, falls back to a default timezone you specify. This ensures every recipient receives the message at the same local time (e.g., 9:00 AM in their timezone). |
| Custom timezone | Applies a single fixed timezone to all contacts (e.g., America/New_York). Use this when the timing is tied to your team’s schedule or a specific event rather than the recipient’s location. |
Behavior
- Contacts are held at the node until both the day-of-week and time-of-day conditions are satisfied.
- If a contact enters the node after the configured time window on a valid day, they are held until the next valid day and time.
- If a contact enters the node on a day that is not selected, they are held until the next selected day at the configured time.
- In Between mode, each contact is assigned a random time within the window. The randomization happens per-contact, not per-workflow-run.
- If the workflow is paused, the timer does not count down. Contacts resume waiting when the workflow is reactivated.
Comparison with other delay nodes
| Node | Waits for | Duration |
|---|
| Wait Until Condition Met | A condition to become true | Indefinite — until condition is met |
| Wait For | A specific day and time | Until the next matching day/time window |
| Time Delay | A fixed amount of time to pass | Exact duration (minutes, hours, days, weeks) |
Use cases
- Weekday morning email delivery — wait until 9:00 AM on weekdays (recipient’s local timezone) before sending a nurture email
- Smoothed campaign sends — wait between 10:00 AM and 10:30 AM to distribute a large email send across a 30-minute window
- Team-aligned Slack alerts — wait until Monday at 8:00 AM EST before posting a weekly summary to a sales channel
- Event reminders — wait until the day before an event at 3:00 PM (recipient’s timezone) to send a reminder
