This guide covers Meeting Planner Guide | 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a count — it is computed from the IANA Time Zone Database for the date stated, not copied from a table that may be out of date.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.

A meeting planner finds the hours when people in different time zones are all awake and working. It takes the working day in each city — usually 09:00 to 17:00 local time — converts it to a common reference, and shows where the working days overlap.

The meeting planner on this site shows the overlap hour by hour, for up to several cities at once. It also shows the daylight saving dates for each city, so you can see when the overlap will shift. The three weeks in March when the United States has changed its clocks and Europe has not are the classic case: a standing meeting moves by an hour, and nobody knows why.

The planner's output is a set of windows, not a single answer. For New York and London the best window is 09:00–12:00 in New York (14:00–17:00 in London) in winter. For London and Tokyo it is the morning in London and the evening in Tokyo. For New York and Sydney there is no good window, and the planner will tell you that honestly — the best you can do is early morning in one city and late evening in the other.

For three or more cities, the planner is even more useful, because the overlap usually disappears and the honest answer is to rotate the meeting time or split it into two sessions. A planner that shows you the overlap is worth more than a converter that shows you the time, because the time is not the problem — the overlap is.

In practice

A meeting planner finds the hours that fall inside everyone's working day, and the first step is to enter the cities. The meeting planner shows the overlap for any set of cities: five hours for New York and London, two for London and Tokyo, and none at all for New York and Tokyo in a normal working day. The overlap is the starting point; the kindest time inside it is the next decision.

The second step is to choose the 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 competes with the school run and the commute, and people are not at their sharpest.

The third step is to 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, and the world clock shows at a glance whether it is a reasonable hour in every city.

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

What is a meeting planner?

A tool that finds the hours that fall inside everyone's working day, for any set of cities. The meeting planner shows the overlap at a glance.

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 choose the best time inside the overlap?

Mid-morning for the person furthest east and late morning for the person furthest west — the overlap of the two best parts of the day, not just of the working day.

How do I convert the meeting time for the invite?

Use the time zone converter: it converts any proposed time into every participant's local time, with the date.

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.