Guide
How to schedule a meeting across 3 or more time zones
Two time zones are a sum. Three or more are a puzzle: there may be no hour when everyone is at work, and each country changes its clocks on a different date. Our founder once misjudged the time of a single client meeting across time zones, and the missed meeting cost a project worth around $2.3 million (the full story). Here's the method we use now.
1. Pick one reference clock
Decide whose clock the meeting is planned on, and say it in the invite. For client meetings that's the client's city. For an internal meeting across many countries, UTC works well, because it never changes for daylight saving. Every other time is then worked out from this one.
2. Write down each person's city and working hours
Use cities, not abbreviations: "Karachi", not "PKT"; "New York", not "EST" (see how to write time zones). Note real working hours too. Someone who starts at 8:00 or stays until 18:00 can turn "impossible" into "one good hour".
3. Find the hours everyone shares
Convert everyone's working day to the reference clock and keep only the part they all share. Some common groups (2027 times; "8 to 6" means one person starts at 8:00 or stays until 18:00):
| Cities | January | July |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, New York, London | No 9-to-5 overlap. 8 to 6: 8:00–10:00 Los Angeles = 11:00–13:00 New York = 16:00–18:00 London | The same hours |
| London, Dubai, Singapore | No 9-to-5 overlap. 8 to 6: 8:00–10:00 London = 12:00–14:00 Dubai = 16:00–18:00 Singapore | 9:00–10:00 London = 12:00–13:00 Dubai = 16:00–17:00 Singapore |
| London, Karachi, Manila | No 9-to-5 overlap. 8 to 6: 8:00–10:00 London = 13:00–15:00 Karachi = 16:00–18:00 Manila | 9:00–10:00 London = 13:00–14:00 Karachi = 16:00–17:00 Manila |
| New York, London, Karachi | None, even 8 to 6. Closest: 8:00 New York = 13:00 London = 18:00 Karachi | 8 to 6: 8:00–9:00 New York = 13:00–14:00 London = 17:00–18:00 Karachi |
| New York, Berlin, Karachi | None, even 8 to 6 | 8 to 6: 8:00–9:00 New York = 14:00–15:00 Berlin = 17:00–18:00 Karachi |
| New York, London, Bangalore | None, even 8 to 6 | 8 to 6: 8:00–8:30 New York = 13:00–13:30 London = 17:30–18:00 Bangalore |
For any two of these cities, the meeting planner shows the shared hours right now.
4. When there's no shared hour
- Stretch the edges a little, on both sides: an 8:00 start in one city and an 18:00 finish in another often creates one hour.
- Rotate the inconvenient slot for recurring meetings, so the same country isn't always on the call at night.
- Split it into two meetings with an overlapping person who passes decisions on, for example the London lead meets New York in the afternoon and Karachi in the morning.
- Keep status updates in writing and use the live call only for decisions.
5. Check the daylight-saving weeks
With three or more countries, the shared hour can move several times a year. The US changes its clocks on 14 March and 7 November 2027, the UK and the EU on 28 March and 31 October, Australia (Sydney) on 4 April and 3 October. Pakistan, India, the UAE, the Philippines and Singapore don't change at all. Check recurring meetings the week before each date: see all 2027 clock-change dates.
6. Send one invite, and spell the time out for everyone
A calendar invite shows each guest the meeting in their own time. In the email, list the time for every city, with the day where it changes:
Wednesday 11 November: 08:00 San Francisco · 11:00 New York · 16:00 London · 21:00 Karachi
Then check holidays: a perfect slot on Eid in Pakistan or Thanksgiving in the US is still a no-show.
AlignHour does steps 3 to 6 for you. Add the people and their cities, and it suggests times inside everyone's working hours, shows "fits 3 of 4" when someone is outside their day, flags public holidays, and sends one invite from your Google Calendar.
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