Plan a Meeting Across Time Zones
Compare named time zones on the actual meeting date and make the invitation unambiguous.
Use a place-based time zone
Abbreviations such as CST can describe more than one time zone. Use an identifier such as America/Chicago or Asia/Shanghai when doing the conversion, and include a clear city or UTC offset in the invitation. A fixed offset alone does not describe a location’s future daylight saving rules.
Convert on the meeting date
New York and London change clocks on different schedules. At 09:00 New York on January 15, 2026, London is at 14:00. On March 15, London is at 13:00 because New York has already moved its clocks forward and London has not. A remembered five-hour difference would be wrong for that March meeting.
Check everyone’s local date
A late meeting in the Americas can be the following morning in Asia. The meeting planner shows a full date in each location. Confirm the date as well as the hour, and check the end of the meeting if it spans a workday boundary.
Treat working hours as a starting point
The planner’s 09:00–17:00 weekday indicator does not know a person’s working pattern, public holidays or availability. Ask participants about their schedule and rotate inconvenient times when a recurring meeting spans widely separated zones.
Watch repeated and missing times
During a spring clock change, some local times never occur. During an autumn change, a local time can occur twice. Avoid scheduling in the transition window if possible. If you must use it, include the UTC instant and offset so the intended occurrence is clear.
Put it into practice
Time Zone Converter
Convert a date and time between world time zones. See the destination date, UTC offset and daylight saving time for your chosen moment.
Time & planningWorld Meeting Planner
Compare the same meeting across three time zones, with local dates and a working-hours indicator for every participant.
Time & planning