Time-dependent actions are legacy, so most teams now build this in Flow. If you still maintain an active workflow rule in an existing org, here is how a time trigger and its scheduled action are configured. Confirm the rule's evaluation criteria allows time triggers before you start.
- Open or create the workflow rule
In Setup, go to Workflow Rules under Process Automation, then open an existing rule or create one on your object. Set the rule criteria that decide which records qualify.
- Confirm the evaluation criteria allows scheduling
Time triggers are blocked on rules set to "created, and every time it's edited." Use "created" or "created, and any time it's edited to subsequently meet criteria" instead.
- Add a time trigger
In the Time-Dependent Workflow Actions area, click Add Time Trigger. Enter a number of days or hours, choose Before or After, and pick the date field that anchors the schedule.
- Attach actions to the trigger
Under the new trigger, add the field update, email alert, task, or outbound message you want to run at that moment. Save and activate the rule.
A whole number from 0 to 999 that sets how far from the anchor field the action runs.
Whether the offset counts down to the date field or runs the action after it has passed.
A standard or custom date or date/time field on the object; it must hold a value when the rule fires or no action is queued.
The work the trigger runs: field update, email alert, task, or outbound message, the same action types a workflow rule supports.
- Actions run in a batch within one hour of the scheduled moment, so timing is approximate, not exact.
- Removing all actions from a trigger leaves the empty trigger in the queue; delete it from the time-based workflow queue to clear it.
- If a record stops meeting the rule criteria, or its anchor date changes, pending actions are recalculated or removed automatically.
- You cannot edit or remove time triggers while their actions still sit in the queue; delete the queued actions first.
- Workflow Rules ended support on December 31, 2025; build new scheduled automation as a Flow scheduled path instead.