Coordinating meetings across time zones is one of the most frustrating parts of distributed work. Here’s how to find the overlap window that works for everyone — and how to handle the most common multi-timezone setups.
The Core Problem
When it’s 9 AM in New York, it’s 2 PM in London and 11 PM in Tokyo. Find a 1-hour window where all three parties are awake during business hours (9 AM – 6 PM local).
The answer depends on the specific time zone pairings.
Time Zone Basics
Time zones are offsets from UTC (Coordinated Universal Time):
| City | UTC Offset | Standard | Daylight Saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | UTC−5 | EST | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| London | UTC+0 | GMT | UTC+1 (BST) |
| Berlin | UTC+1 | CET | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Tokyo | UTC+9 | JST | No DST |
| Sydney | UTC+10 | AEST | UTC+11 (AEDT) |
DST complicates things — the offset changes twice a year for northern hemisphere zones.
Worked Example: New York, London, Tokyo
Goal: Find a 1-hour window where all three are between 9 AM and 6 PM local.
New York 9 AM → UTC: 9 AM − (−5) = 14:00 UTC London 9 AM → UTC: 9 AM − 0 = 09:00 UTC Tokyo 9 AM → UTC: 9 AM − 9 = 00:00 UTC
New York 6 PM → UTC: 6 PM − (−5) = 23:00 UTC London 6 PM → UTC: 6 PM − 0 = 18:00 UTC Tokyo 6 PM → UTC: 6 PM − 9 = 09:00 UTC
Window in UTC where everyone is available:
- After 14:00 UTC (NY starts) and 09:00 UTC (London starts) = after 14:00 UTC
- Before 23:00 UTC (NY ends) and 09:00 UTC (Tokyo ends) = before 09:00 UTC
There’s no overlap — Tokyo is asleep when New York is awake. The best compromise is an early Tokyo evening (8 PM = 11 AM NYC, 4 PM London) or a late New York morning (9 AM NYC = 9 PM Tokyo).
Common Time Zone Overlap Windows
US East Coast ↔ Europe (London/Berlin/Paris)
| NYC time | London time | Berlin time |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 AM | 1:00 PM | 2:00 PM |
| 9:00 AM | 2:00 PM | 3:00 PM |
| 10:00 AM | 3:00 PM | 4:00 PM |
A 9 AM NYC / 2–4 PM Europe slot is the most common window.
US West Coast ↔ Europe
| LA time | London time | Berlin time |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 AM | 4:00 PM | 5:00 PM |
| 9:00 AM | 5:00 PM | 6:00 PM |
US West Coast mornings overlap with European afternoons. A 9 AM LA / 5–6 PM Europe slot is the practical limit.
US ↔ Asia (Tokyo/Singapore/Seoul)
| NYC time | Tokyo time |
|---|---|
| 8:00 AM | 10:00 PM |
| 9:00 AM | 11:00 PM |
| 7:00 AM | 9:00 PM |
Late morning US calls are late evening in Tokyo. No good window exists for an 8 AM–6 PM overlap for both regions.
Quick Reference: Best Meeting Slots
| Setup | Best Slot (US time) | Best Slot (EU/Asia time) |
|---|---|---|
| NY ↔ London | 9–10 AM NY | 2–3 PM London |
| NY ↔ Berlin | 9–10 AM NY | 3–4 PM Berlin |
| LA ↔ London | 9–10 AM LA | 5–6 PM London |
| NY ↔ Tokyo | 9–10 AM NY | 11 PM–12 AM Tokyo |
| London ↔ Tokyo | 9 AM London | 6 PM Tokyo |
How to Handle DST Transitions
When Europe switches to summer time (late March) or the US switches to standard time (early November), the overlap window shifts by an hour. Re-check your recurring meeting times after each DST transition.
Tools Don’t Replace Awareness
Even with a timezone overlap calculator, be mindful of:
- Holidays — national holidays differ by country; check before scheduling
- Weekends — confirm all parties are in standard work weeks
- Core hours — some teams define a narrower “everyone available” window (e.g., 10 AM–4 PM)
Summary
Find UTC offsets for all participants, convert each person’s working hours to UTC, then find the intersection. For NY ↔ London, 9–10 AM NYC / 2–3 PM London works well. For NY ↔ Tokyo, there is no clean overlap in standard business hours.
Find the exact overlap window for your team with the Timezone Overlap Calculator — enter your cities and working hours to see every window where everyone is available.