Time Zones and Scheduling
For everyone who schedules, calls, confirms or reports across time zones. After reading this page you will convert times without mistakes, handle clock changes, avoid date-line confusion, and schedule meetings and appointments that nobody misses.
Track: All tracks · Role: Everyone · Time to complete: 30 min
Why one hour matters
A one-hour mistake can mean a seller waiting for a call that never comes, a technician arriving at the wrong time, a client meeting missed, or a call placed outside legal hours. Time zone mistakes are among the most common and most avoidable errors in offshore work. This page makes them impossible.
1. The basics
- Every time zone is described as an offset from UTC (Coordinated Universal Time).
- Dhaka is UTC+6 all year. Bangladesh does not change clocks.
- The Philippines is UTC+8 all year.
- Egypt is UTC+2, and in recent years has used summer time (UTC+3) for part of the year. Check the current rule each year.
- The US, UK, Europe and Australia change their clocks for part of the year (daylight saving time). This is what causes most mistakes.
2. Offsets from Dhaka
"Behind" means the other place is earlier than Dhaka. Subtract these hours from Dhaka time.
| Zone | Summer (daylight time) | Winter (standard time) |
|---|---|---|
| US Eastern (ET) | 10 hours behind | 11 hours behind |
| US Central (CT) | 11 hours behind | 12 hours behind |
| US Mountain (MT) | 12 hours behind | 13 hours behind |
| Arizona (most) | 13 hours behind | 13 hours behind |
| US Pacific (PT) | 13 hours behind | 14 hours behind |
| Alaska | 14 hours behind | 15 hours behind |
| Hawaii | 16 hours behind | 16 hours behind |
| UK | 5 hours behind | 6 hours behind |
| Sydney, Australia | 4 hours ahead (their winter) | 5 hours ahead (their summer) |
Note that Australia's summer is the US and UK winter.
3. When clocks change
| Place | Clocks go forward 1 hour | Clocks go back 1 hour |
|---|---|---|
| United States (most) | Second Sunday in March | First Sunday in November |
| UK and most of Europe | Last Sunday in March | Last Sunday in October |
| Southeast Australia (Sydney, Melbourne) | First Sunday in October | First Sunday in April |
| Bangladesh, Philippines | Never | Never |
| Arizona (most), Hawaii | Never | Never |
The tricky weeks: the US and UK change on different dates. For a few weeks in March and about one week around late October and early November, the gap between New York and London is 4 hours instead of the usual 5. If your client has teams in both, double-check every meeting in those weeks.
What this means for your shift: when the US clocks change, the same client hour falls one hour earlier or later in Dhaka. Your Campaign Lead confirms any shift change, but put every clock-change date in your own calendar at the start of the year.
Never do this: Never assume last week's conversion still works in March, October or November. Recheck every scheduled call, appointment and recurring meeting in the week a clock changes.
4. Converting without mistakes
Method: count from Dhaka, then name the day.
- Find the offset for the right season (table above).
- Subtract (for the US and UK) or add (for Australia).
- Check the date. Crossing midnight changes the day.
- Write the result with the zone and the day.
Worked examples
| Dhaka time | Season | Converted | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 8:00 PM | US summer | Tue 10:00 AM ET | 8 PM minus 10 hours |
| Wed 2:00 AM | US summer | Tue 1:00 PM PT | Crosses midnight: still Tuesday in California |
| Wed 6:30 AM | US winter | Tue 7:30 PM ET | 6:30 AM minus 11 hours, previous day |
| Wed 6:30 AM | US winter | Tue 4:30 PM PT | 6:30 AM minus 14 hours |
| Mon 3:00 PM | UK winter | Mon 9:00 AM GMT | 3 PM minus 6 hours |
| Mon 5:00 AM | Australian summer | Mon 10:00 AM AEDT (Sydney) | 5 AM plus 5 hours |
The "your night is their day" rule: on US campaigns, when it is after midnight in Dhaka, it is usually still the previous day in the US. When a client says "tomorrow", they mean their tomorrow, not yours.
Coach's note: Set the CRM, calendar and your computer's second clock to the client's time zone, and think in their time during your shift. Operators who think in client time stop making conversion mistakes, because there is nothing to convert.
5. Scheduling with customers
- Always confirm their time zone. "Just to make sure I get this right, are you on Central time?"
- Offer two specific options in their time: "Would Tuesday at 10 AM or Wednesday at 2 PM your time work better?"
- Repeat the full detail back: day, date, time and zone. "So that's Tuesday, October 20th, at 10 AM Central. Correct?"
- Avoid "tomorrow" and "tonight" in confirmations. Say the day and date.
- Respect calling hours when booking a callback. Never book a sales callback outside the permitted window in their local time.
- Note it in the CRM with the zone, and set the task in the CRM so it fires at the right moment.
6. Scheduling for clients (calendar standards)
| Standard | How |
|---|---|
| Hold the time | Place a "HOLD: (TOPIC)" on the calendar the moment a time is proposed. Remove unused holds within 24 hours. |
| Buffers | At least 15 minutes between video calls; at least 30 minutes either side of in-person meetings, using real travel time |
| Multi-zone invites | Show each zone in the invite: "2:00 PM ET / 11:00 AM PT" |
| Complete invites | Every external meeting includes the link or address, attendees and their companies, a one-line purpose, and any prep document |
| Confirm | Confirm external meetings about 24 hours before |
| Evening brief | If your role includes it, send the client a short brief of tomorrow's meetings, prep and conflicts at the end of their day |
| Approval | Never accept, move or decline a meeting for an important contact without the client's approval. Never delete an event the client created. |
7. Recurring meetings and deadlines
- Recurring meetings are usually set in the organiser's zone. When clocks change, they move in your local time. Check them.
- Deadlines like "end of day" mean the end of the client's business day in their zone (usually around 5 PM their time), unless they say otherwise. Ask if unsure.
- "End of week" usually means Friday, end of the client's business day.
Practice drills
Convert each one, including the day. Answers below.
- Dhaka Thursday 11:00 PM, US summer, to Pacific time.
- Dhaka Friday 4:00 AM, US winter, to Eastern time.
- A Texas seller asks for a callback "Monday at 6 PM my time" in January. What is that in Dhaka?
- A UK client wants a 9:00 AM call in July. What is that in Dhaka?
- It is the second week of March. The US has changed clocks, the UK has not. A New York client and a London partner want to meet at 10:00 AM New York time. What time is it in London?
Answers
- Thursday 10:00 AM PT (11 PM minus 13 hours).
- Thursday 5:00 PM ET (4 AM minus 11 hours, previous day).
- Most of Texas is Central. In January (winter) Central is 12 hours behind Dhaka, so 6 PM CT Monday is 6:00 AM Tuesday in Dhaka.
- 2:00 PM in Dhaka (UK summer time is 5 hours behind Dhaka).
- 2:00 PM in London (the gap is 4 hours during these weeks, not 5).
Check yourself
- What is Dhaka's UTC offset, and does it change?
- When do most US clocks change?
- Why should you avoid writing "tomorrow" in a confirmation?
- A client says "send it by end of day". What does that usually mean?
Answers
- UTC+6, and it never changes.
- Forward on the second Sunday in March; back on the first Sunday in November.
- Because "tomorrow" in Dhaka and "tomorrow" in the US can be different days. Use the day and date.
- By the end of the client's business day in their time zone, usually around 5 PM their time, unless they say otherwise.
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