This guide covers How to Schedule Meetings Across 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a count — it is computed from the IANA Time Zone Database for the date stated, not copied from a table that may be out of date.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.

Scheduling a meeting across time zones is a four-step process: list the participants' zones, convert everyone's working hours to a common reference (usually UTC), find the overlap, and pick the time inside it that is least painful. Doing it by hand is error-prone; a meeting planner tool does the conversion for you, but the logic is worth understanding.

Step one is to get the zones right. 'New York' is America/New_York (UTC−05:00 in winter, UTC−04:00 in summer), not just 'US Eastern'. 'London' is Europe/London (UTC+0 in winter, UTC+01:00 in summer). The zone name matters because the offset changes with daylight saving, and the change dates differ by country.

Step two is to convert the working day. Take 09:00–17:00 in each city and express it in UTC. In January, New York's working day is 14:00–22:00 UTC, London's is 09:00–17:00 UTC, and Tokyo's is 00:00–08:00 UTC. The overlap of New York and London is 14:00–17:00 UTC; the overlap of London and Tokyo is 00:00–08:00 UTC only in the sense that Tokyo's day starts at midnight UTC — in practice, the usable overlap is the early morning in Tokyo and the late morning in London.

Step three is to choose. Pick a time inside the overlap and check it in every participant's local time. Then send the invitation with the time in UTC and in each local time, and set the calendar event to the UTC time so it moves correctly when daylight saving changes. The most common mistake is to set a recurring meeting in local time and forget that the other side's clocks change on a different date — the meeting then lands an hour early or late for three weeks a year.

In practice

The first rule is to put the time zone in the invite. A meeting at '3pm' is meaningless across time zones — 3pm where? Always write the time with its zone, and let the calendar software convert it: '3pm London time (GMT/BST)' or '3pm UTC'. The second rule is to check the invite from the other person's side: most calendar apps let you see what the meeting looks like in another time zone, and it takes ten seconds to check.

The third rule is to watch out for daylight saving. The offset between two cities changes when one of them moves its clocks and the other does not — and the dates differ: the US changes three weeks before Europe in spring, and a week later in autumn. A recurring meeting scheduled in January can be an hour wrong in April if no one checks. The fix is to schedule recurring meetings in UTC, or to check the time again after each clock change.

The fourth rule is to prefer asynchronous work. A meeting across eight time zones costs someone their evening, and the cost is paid every week. A written update, a recorded call, or a shared document that people comment on in their own working hours is often better — and it has the side effect of creating a record. Meet when you need to decide something together; write when you need to share information.

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 schedule a meeting across time zones?

Find the overlap of everyone's working day, pick a time inside it, write the invite with the time zone attached, and check what it looks like from the other person's side.

Should I put the time zone in the invite?

Always. A meeting at '3pm' is meaningless across time zones. Write '3pm London time (GMT/BST)' or '3pm UTC', and let the calendar software convert it.

How does daylight saving affect recurring meetings?

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 clock change.

What is the best tool for scheduling across time zones?

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.

When should I not schedule a meeting?

When the information could be shared in writing. A meeting across eight time zones costs someone their evening; a written update costs no one anything.

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.