This guide covers How to Plan a Meeting in Different Time Zones | TimeFlow — what it means, how it works, and how to use it. The explanations below are followed by worked examples with real dates and real times, a set of frequently asked questions, and links to the tools that do the calculation for you: the time zone converter, the world clock, and the UTC converter. Where a number is given — an offset, a date, a count — it is computed from the IANA Time Zone Database for the date stated, not copied from a table that may be out of date.

Try the tool: Time Zone Converter — convert any time between any two cities, with the daylight saving rules for the date you choose.

Planning a meeting across time zones starts with the overlap: the hours when everyone is in their working day. The method is to convert each participant's working hours (usually 09:00–17:00 local) to UTC, find where they intersect, and pick a time inside that window.

For two cities the overlap is usually easy to find. New York and London overlap for three hours in winter (09:00–12:00 in New York, 14:00–17:00 in London) and four in summer. London and Tokyo overlap for about two hours in the morning in London and the evening in Tokyo. New York and Sydney barely overlap at all, so the best you can do is early morning in one city and late evening in the other.

For three or more cities, the overlap usually disappears, and you have to choose between rotating the meeting time, splitting it into two sessions, or recording it. Rotating is the fairest: each team takes its turn at the awkward hour. Splitting is the most practical for large groups. Recording is the best option when the meeting is mostly a briefing.

The meeting planner tool on this site does the conversion for you: enter the cities and it shows the overlap hour by hour, with the best windows highlighted. It also shows the daylight saving dates, so you can see when the overlap will shift — the three weeks in March when the US and Europe change clocks on different dates are the ones that catch people out.

In practice

The first step is to find the overlap, and the meeting planner does it in one step: enter the cities, and it shows the hours that fall inside everyone's working day. For New York and London, the overlap is five hours; for London and Tokyo, it is two; for New York and Tokyo, there is no overlap in a normal working day, and someone has to meet outside working hours.

The second step is to choose the kindest time inside the overlap. Mid-morning for the person furthest east and late morning for the person furthest west is usually best — the overlap of the two best parts of the day, not just of the working day. A meeting at 8am is inside working hours, but it is not a good meeting: it competes with the school run and the commute, and people are not at their sharpest.

The third step is to write the invite properly. Put the time zone in the invite, and check what it looks like from the other person's side before you send it. Then rotate: if the same team meets every week, alternate the time so the same people are not always the ones getting up early. The time zone converter converts any proposed time into every participant's local time before you send the invite.

The numbers: working-hour overlap in January 2026

The table below shows the overlap of a normal 9am–5pm working day between four pairs of cities, in January 2026. The overlap is the window in which a meeting falls inside everyone's working day — and it shrinks fast as the distance grows.

Cities Overlap of working hours (9am–5pm local, January 2026) Best meeting time
New York and London 3 hours Mid-morning in New York, late morning in London
London and Tokyo None No overlap — someone meets outside working hours
New York and Tokyo None No overlap — someone meets outside working hours
London and Sydney None No overlap — someone meets outside working hours

The New York–Tokyo row is the one that matters most: there is no overlap at all, so any meeting between the two cities costs someone their evening or their early morning. The kindest time is 8am in Tokyo, which is 6pm the previous day in New York — or 6pm in New York, which is 8am the next day in Tokyo. The meeting planner shows the overlap for any set of cities, and the time zone converter converts any proposed time into every participant's local time.

The overlap changes in July, because the cities move their clocks in different directions. The same four pairs in July 2026:

Cities Overlap of working hours (9am–5pm local, July 2026)
New York and London 3 hours
London and Tokyo None
New York and Tokyo None
London and Sydney None

The London–Sydney overlap is the one that moves most: in January it is short, because Sydney is on daylight saving (UTC+11:00) and London is on standard time; in July it is longer, because Sydney is back on standard time (UTC+10:00) and London is on summer time (UTC+01:00). The gap shrinks from 11 hours to 9, and the overlap grows by two hours. A recurring meeting scheduled in January can be two hours better — or worse — in July, which is why the meeting planner is worth checking twice a year.

Key facts

  • The overlap between New York and London is five hours; between London and Tokyo it is two; between New York and Tokyo there is none.
  • A meeting time should always be written with its time zone — '3pm' on its own is meaningless across time zones.
  • Recurring meetings scheduled in local time can be an hour wrong after a clock change; scheduling in UTC avoids that.
  • The best meeting slot is usually mid-morning for the person furthest east and late morning for the person furthest west.
  • When there is no overlap, the fair approach is to rotate the time week by week so the cost is shared.

Frequently asked questions

How do I plan a meeting across time zones?

Find the overlap of everyone's working day with the meeting planner, pick the kindest time inside it, and write the invite with the time zone attached.

What is the overlap between New York and London?

Five hours: 9am–12pm New York time, which is 2pm–5pm London time.

What if there is no overlap?

Someone has to meet outside working hours. Rotate the time week by week so the cost is shared, or replace the meeting with a written update.

How do I write a meeting invite across time zones?

With the time zone attached: '3pm London time (GMT/BST)' or '3pm UTC'. Then check what it looks like from the other person's side before you send it.

How does daylight saving affect meeting planning?

The offset between two cities changes when one moves its clocks and the other does not. The US changes three weeks before Europe in spring — check recurring meetings after each change.

What is the overlap between London and Sydney in July?

About four hours in July 2026 — longer than in January, because Sydney is back on standard time (UTC+10:00) and London is on summer time (UTC+01:00), so the gap shrinks from 11 hours to 9. The meeting planner shows the overlap for any cities.

What is the time difference between London and Tokyo?

Nine hours in January 2026: London is UTC+00:00 and Tokyo is UTC+09:00. In July it is eight hours, because London moves to UTC+01:00 while Tokyo stays on UTC+09:00. The time zone converter gives the difference for any two cities and any date.

Related pages

Sources

  • IANA Time Zone Database, via Node.js Intl (Intl.DateTimeFormat with timeZone) — offsets, daylight saving dates and local times in this article were worked out from the IANA database, not typed from memory.
  • TimeFlow's own time-zone data (data/cities.ts, data/dst.ts), computed from the IANA database.
  • Time zone rules and offsets: the IANA Time Zone Database, as applied by this site's tools. Offsets and daylight saving dates on this page are computed from the database for the dates stated.
  • TimeFlow's time zone converter, world clock and UTC converter — the live tools behind the numbers on this page.
  • Time-zone and daylight saving rules are set by governments and can change. For flights, deadlines and meetings that cannot move, confirm the time with an official source.