Finding Meeting Overlap Across Time Zones: New York, London, and Singapore

Overlap Table for Standard Hours

For Singapore (UTC+8), 9:00 to 17:00 local is 01:00 to 09:00 UTC, so there is no overlap with London (09:00 to 17:00 UTC); the ranges just touch. San Francisco (UTC−8) works 17:00 to 01:00 UTC, which also does not overlap with London, except at the boundary of 17:00. Extending the day to 8:00 to 18:00 gives two hours: San Francisco 16:00 to 02:00 UTC overlaps London 08:00 to 18:00 UTC from 16:00 to 18:00, which is 8 to 10 am in San Francisco and 4 to 6 pm in London.

A three-way meeting across New York, London, and Singapore has no overlap even with extended hours, and someone must take an early or late slot.

Fair Rotation for Global Teams

When no overlap exists, rotate the burden. If a recurring meeting is at 21:00 Singapore time (13:00 UTC, 8 am New York, 1 pm London), the Singapore team bears the late-evening inconvenience. In alternate weeks, move it to 07:00 Singapore (23:00 UTC the day before, 6 pm New York, 11 pm London), where the London team stays late. Using a rotation prevents one location from always taking the bad slot. Record meetings so people outside the window can catch up, and use asynchronous updates for routine information.

Daylight Saving Time Traps

Time zones do not shift on the same dates: the US typically changes in March and November, while Europe changes a few weeks later in March and earlier in the autumn, and Singapore does not observe daylight time. For a few weeks each year, the New York–London gap is 4 hours instead of 5, shifting the overlap. Always check meetings around the transitions. Use calendar software that stores meetings in UTC and displays them in local time, and state the time zone in invitations.

Practical Tips

Use the 'meeting planner' feature of your calendar, or a world clock. Identify core hours for the team (for example, 14:00 to 16:00 UTC) and keep a few. Keep meetings short and necessary when the time is inconvenient. Be explicit in writing with both time zones: '9:00 am New York / 2:00 pm London'. Don't forget regional weekends and holidays; some countries work Sunday to Thursday.