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How to schedule a meeting across time zones
Short answer
To schedule across time zones, let each person give their availability in their own local time, then find the overlap in one shared view. Prefer slots inside everyone's working hours, rotate the inconvenient slot if the meeting repeats, and send a calendar invite rather than writing the time in a message, so each calendar shows it in local time.
Let people answer in their own time zone
Most time zone mistakes happen when one person converts times for everyone else. Ask each guest to answer in their local time and let the tool do the conversion. alignd detects each guest's time zone and shows the calendar in it, while the host sees everything in theirs.
Finding the overlap
Working-day overlap shrinks quickly as time zones spread out. London and New York share a few hours in the UK afternoon. London and Singapore share a few hours in the UK morning. London, New York and Singapore together rarely share any normal working hour, so someone will be early or late.
- List who is required. Optional people can watch a recording.
- Look for a slot inside everyone's 08:00 to 18:00 first.
- If there isn't one, choose the slot that is least bad for the most people, and say so in the invite.
Watch out for daylight saving changes
The UK and most of Europe change clocks on the last Sunday of March and October; the United States changes on the second Sunday of March and the first Sunday of November. For a few weeks each year the gap between London and New York is four hours instead of five. Sending a proper calendar invite avoids this, because each calendar converts the time for its owner.
Write times so nobody misreads them
- Put the time zone next to every time, e.g. 14:00 BST (09:00 EDT).
- Use the 24-hour clock or include am/pm.
- Include the date, not just the weekday, near the end of a month.
- Send the invite. A calendar entry is the one format every person sees in their own local time.
Make recurring meetings fair
If a meeting repeats and one region always gets the 07:00 or 21:00 slot, rotate it. Alternating between two slots keeps the cost shared.