Turn a routine off when you want to pause future scheduled runs while keeping its setup. You can then change the schedule, steps, or delivery, save the revised configuration, and turn it on again when you are ready.
A routine is shared by the team. Changing its schedule or turning it off affects the routine itself; changing Notify me affects your personal notifications. This guide explains both so you can choose the right control.
Check what you want to change
Open Routines and select the routine. Confirm its name, purpose, On or Off state, Runs schedule, and latest Run history.
For a new workflow, start with Creating a recurring routine. To investigate a failed or unexpected result, see Testing and troubleshooting a routine.
Choose the change that fits your goal:
- Pause scheduled work: turn the routine off.
- Run at a different time: change its schedule and save the routine.
- Change the work or its recipients: review the steps or delivery settings, then save.
- Stop receiving personal notifications: turn off Notify me, without stopping the shared routine.
Saving changes to a routine that is on keeps scheduled runs active with the new configuration. Turn it off before editing if you want to review the changes before scheduled work resumes. Saving an off routine leaves it off.
You need permission to edit or operate routines. If the controls are unavailable, review your feature access or ask someone with the appropriate access to make the change.
Pause future scheduled runs
To pause the routine:
- Open the intended routine and check that it is On.
- If you have unsaved edits, resolve them first. Keep a copy if needed; saving while the routine is on can put those edits into use. To discard them, return to All routines and confirm leaving without saving, then reopen the routine.
- Use the on/off switch to turn the routine off.
- Wait for the confirmation and check that its state is Off · stopped.
- Review Run history for work already queued or in progress, and check any output that has already been produced.
The switch is unavailable while the page has unsaved changes. Resolve the edits rather than assuming the switch has paused the routine.
If you want to record why you stopped it, open Routine actions and choose Stop with a reason… while the routine is on. Add a Reason (optional) in the Stop routine dialog, then select Stop routine. A useful note explains the issue and what needs to happen before resuming, such as “Review the recipients before the next scheduled summary.”
Stopping keeps the routine's configuration available for review and later use. You do not need to delete and recreate a routine to take a break from its schedule.
Check work that was already requested
Turning a routine off is not a cancellation or undo action for work already running. A run that has started can still finish and produce output or notifications. Inspect its outcome before deciding what to do next.
A queued manual run is also separate from the recurring schedule. It uses the routine configuration captured when you selected Run now. Turning the routine off or editing it afterward does not replace that queued configuration or cancel the manual request.
Scheduled work checks whether the routine is still on and its approval is current before executing. A scheduled entry can therefore appear as Skipped after the routine is stopped or its configuration changes. Read the recorded reason instead of assuming that every queued entry behaved the same way.
In Run history, choose Show details for the relevant run. Check its time, outcome, any step details, and the actual destination of its output. A partial failure can leave earlier steps completed, so establish what was created, changed, or sent before starting another run.
Do not use Run now to check whether the routine is off. It performs real work and can run a saved routine manually while its recurring schedule is off. It can also use your configured AI service; see Understanding AI usage and costs.
Change the schedule and save it
On the routine's Delivery card, choose Change beside Runs. In Schedule routine, review:
- Cadence: choose the intended frequency, such as Every day, Every week, or Every month.
- Time: choose the time where the selected cadence uses one.
- Day of week or Day of month: check the additional choice for a weekly or monthly schedule. Dates after the 28th are skipped in months without that date.
- Timezone: choose the timezone the schedule should follow. Check the summary and your local-time comparison when shown.
- Catch up missed runs after downtime: decide whether late work is useful after an interruption. Do not assume it will replay every missed run.
Use Custom cron only when you need a schedule the simpler choices cannot express. Check the expression and timezone carefully before saving.
Select Apply schedule to put the proposed schedule into the routine form. Then select Save changes on the routine page to persist it. Applying the schedule alone does not change the saved routine. Cancel in the schedule dialog closes it without applying your changes.
After saving, read Runs again. Check the next-run time when shown. The next-run indicator is based on the saved schedule; an unsaved change is not a promise that the next run has moved.
For example, if your team changes a daily summary to a weekly one, confirm the weekday, local time, reporting scope, and recipients together. A timing change alone does not necessarily change the reporting period used by the selected job.
Update steps, instructions, and delivery
Review Steps in order. For a built-in routine, choose Edit steps to open the builder. For a routine you created, the step editor is already shown.
When changing the work:
- Check each Data call and its selected sources so the routine reads the intended information.
- Check the selected Job and its saved instructions. Confirm that the job exists, is enabled, and performs the intended operation.
- Check any selected Script with its maintainer before changing how it runs.
- Review later steps that depend on earlier output, including branch conditions and the expected result.
A selected job or script may be reused elsewhere. Before changing that reusable item, check what else depends on it. Changing which item this routine selects and editing the item itself are different decisions.
For a routine you created, Routine actions → Name & description… lets you revise its identity, and Guidance… lets you revise its purpose and expectations. Apply those edits and then use Save changes on the routine. Built-in routines do not offer those same guidance and naming controls.
Review Delivery before saving. Notifies identifies shared notification destinations; Notify me controls your own subscription where available. Turning your subscription off does not stop the routine or other people's notifications. Shared schedule and destination changes affect the team.
Use Read it in when shown to find the actual result. A notification can be a brief completion update rather than the full output. Check both the work's destination and the intended notification recipients.
If no shared destination was selected, a displayed default may be used when the routine is turned on or run manually. Review that destination before proceeding. Resolve missing-channel, missing-job, script, or other setup notices rather than choosing an unrelated replacement just to clear the warning.
Resume deliberately and check the result
When the changes are ready:
- Confirm the saved steps, instructions, schedule, timezone, output destination, and recipients.
- Resolve any setup notices and make sure there are no unsaved changes.
- Check Run history for work in progress or a scheduled retry before requesting more work.
- Turn the routine on and verify that its state is On. Review the next-run time when available.
- After the next run, inspect its history and actual output to confirm that the revised routine did what you intended.
Saving an off routine does not resume its recurring schedule; turning it on is a separate action. If you choose to test manually first, use Run now once with the effects and recipients understood. A successful manual test does not turn scheduled runs on.
If saving or activation reports an error, read the message and check the saved configuration and current state before retrying. Do not assume the routine stayed on, or that all of a failed save's changes were discarded. Reopen the routine to establish what is stored, then make the remaining correction.
If the problem continues, ask for help with the routine name, intended change, visible state, run time, and error. Include whether it was a scheduled or manual run and any output already produced. Leave credentials and unrelated private information out of screenshots or copied details.