How to Schedule Meetings Across Time Zones

Planning a call across cities is easier when you account for time zones, daylight saving changes, and each participant’s working hours.

Try the Time Zone Converter tool

Start with a date and a city

Choose the meeting date and the participants’ actual time zones, not just a fixed UTC offset. The offset can change with daylight saving time.

Find a reasonable overlap

Compare local working hours for everyone. A time that is convenient in Toronto may be late at night in another city.

Avoid daylight saving mistakes

Some places change clocks on different dates and others do not change clocks at all. Recheck future meeting dates rather than assuming today’s offset remains valid.

Send an unambiguous invitation

Include the date, local time zone, and calendar invitation. A calendar event that stores the time zone is safer than a message saying only “3 PM.”

Frequently asked questions

Is EST the same as Toronto time year-round?

No. Toronto observes Eastern Standard Time in winter and Eastern Daylight Time in summer.

Should I use UTC offsets for future meetings?

Named time zones are generally safer because they account for seasonal changes.

Try it now

Ready to put this into practice? Open the Time Zone Converter tool.

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