Automation action steps always run sequentially, never simultaneously.
However, I have noticed delays with lookup fields & rollup fields getting their values refreshed/displayed after a linked record field is updated, especially if they involve a synced table.
Are you including lookup fields or rollup fields in your email?
If so, the best solution would be to add a 5-second pause before your emails are sent, but the bigger problem is that Airtable has given us no native ability to insert pauses or delays in our automations.
The only way to insert a pause is to use the “Run Script” action and write a custom JavaScript. Here’s a script that gives a 5-second delay/pause:
function delay(seconds) {
const startTime = Date.now()
while (Date.now() - startTime < seconds * 1000)
continue
}
delay(5) One thing to note is that most of these limitations and workarounds disappear when using Make’s advanced automations for Airtable, which is the most powerful automation tool on the market for Airtable.
Make even offers its own built-in sleep tool to add pauses or delays in an automation, although those typically aren’t even necessary because Make communicates with Airtable via its API, so it only continues to the next step after it gets a successful response from Airtable.
Even better, you can tell Make to process automation runs one-at-a-time instead of simultaneously, to make sure that all automations are processed in an exact order.
There is a small learning curve with Make, which is why I created this basic navigation video to help. I also provide the links to a few other Make training resources there as well. For example, to instantly trigger your Make scenarios from Airtable, check out this thread.
p.s. If you have a budget for your project and you’d like to hire an expert Airtable consultant to help you with any of this, please feel free to contact me through my website: Airtable consulting — ScottWorld
