6 useful tips for working in different timezones
By: Qarbon It
Tags: Offshore Development, Timezone Difference, Business, Timezone, Outsourcing

6 useful tips for working in different timezones

Companies today seem to have no barriers, so you may have colleagues or clients who live in different time zones. With the magic of the Internet, working online is a matter of course today. Especially recently, in these strange times, we live in, remote work is becoming more and more popular. This is wonderful, but it can also be a headache when it comes to staying in touch, projects, and deadlines. Qarbon IT Nov 19, 2021·9 min read

Remote work also brings another great solution, which is outsourcing.

Outsourcing is a common practice and has long existed in the programming industry. Many companies take advantage of the worldwide expansion of offshoring, the employment of workers from distant countries. This is a great option, but when working with other countries such as Australia, you need to remember the fact that different time zones need to be taken into account.

So, even with great organization, working with different timezones can be a real challenge. How to work effectively and easily in situations like this? Is it even achievable?

As a company based in Poland that works with foreign clients on a daily basis, we answer — YES, it is possible! And as experienced in this battle, we present some useful tips!

Tips for working in different time zones

1. Be aware of the time.

When you work with companies in different countries, everything seems to be in control most of the time. But suddenly, a lot of tasks arise- orders, emails, meetings, etc. Sometimes you can get lost at work and forget something. So when there are already so many important things in your head, thinking “what time it is in New Your right know?” is just a time-waster. If you want to be professional in your job, you should know when your coworkers are working.

There are many useful apps that allow you to check quickly what time it is right now anywhere on earth. It will save your time — you just need to look it up. And it also saves the embarrassment of writing to your colleagues at the wrong time- for example when they’re still sleeping or they are done with work for the day. You already know that it’s not worth sending some important email at this point because the project manager just went home and won’t answer until the next morning.

Remember: Don’t text people while they’re sleeping. It’s not professional.

These apps will help you check time zones:

World Time Zone

You may need to know how the time zones are combined. This is where the World Time Zone comes into play. The site displays a compact and comprehensive map that includes each time zone and its longitude. You can zoom in to get a specific list of times across countries or continents, or search for specific locations around the world.

Every Time Zone

Open All Time Zones in your web browser to get an overview of your time zones compared to multiple cities such as Tokyo, Berlin, and Dubai. Each time zone is designed to be displayed in relation to each other. You can sign up for a free account to customize the cities and the order in which they appear.

Time Buddy

World Time Buddy is a visual time converter, planner, and world clock. You can line up your calendar events and check the time for each location for finding the perfect meeting slots. There are 20k locations and their time zones, so you can find yours for sure.

Timezone.io

When you open a free account on Timezone.io, you’ll see the entire team in a grid showing who is in which timezone and at what time it is here. You can also easily adjust the time slider at the top of the screen to move the time back and forth. It’s a really useful tool for planning meetings and projects.

World clocks in Google Calendar

Sometimes the easiest solution is the best. Who doesn’t use Google Calendar? Do you remember the old days when three or more different clocks were hanging on the wall in the office? Now you can view them in Google Calendar whenever you plan a week. Click the gear icon (upper right) on the web, click Settings and View World Clock, and one or more world clocks will appear on the left side of the calendar interface.

2. Assign a time zone to a calendar

Google Calendar and also an Apple Calendar allow you to assign a time zone when you make a new appointment. Just click on the corresponding entry on your mobile phone or the web to automatically adjust the time of the calendar event to the current time zone. If the event is outside the guest’s business hours, you will be notified to change accordingly.

3. Know the time zone terminology

If you want to avoid misunderstandings when scheduling a call or meeting, you should be aware, that hours are marked in other ways in various time zones.

But maybe let’s start with the basic question- what a time zone is?

A Time zone is a delimited area of ​​the Earth’s surface extending meridian between the poles for which the official time is the same (zone time).

GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) - Universal time means the solar time of the prime meridian. The prime meridian is believed to be the meridian that passes through the Royal Observatory Greenwich. This is the zone time of the first time zone where the time in the other zones is counted. English speakers often use GMT as a synonym for Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

- Universal time means the solar time of the prime meridian. The prime meridian is believed to be the meridian that passes through the Royal Observatory Greenwich. This is the zone time of the first time zone where the time in the other zones is counted. English speakers often use GMT as a synonym for Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). UTC (Universal Time Coordinated) - it is the basis of today’s civil time. This 24-hour clock is maintained by a high-precision atomic clock combined with the rotation of the earth. UTC is the time standard used around the world.

- it is the basis of today’s civil time. This 24-hour clock is maintained by a high-precision atomic clock combined with the rotation of the earth. UTC is the time standard used around the world. EST (Eastern Standard Time) - a time zone that corresponds to the solar time of the 75 ° W meridian, which differs by five hours from Coordinated Universal Time. The zone includes parts of Canada and the United States.

- a time zone that corresponds to the solar time of the 75 ° W meridian, which differs by five hours from Coordinated Universal Time. The zone includes parts of Canada and the United States. CST (Central Standard Time) - a time zone that corresponds to the solar time of the 90 ° W meridian, which is 6 hours away from Coordinated Universal Time. Canada and the United States are in the zone.

- a time zone that corresponds to the solar time of the 90 ° W meridian, which is 6 hours away from Coordinated Universal Time. Canada and the United States are in the zone. MST (Mountain Standard Time) - a time zone that corresponds to the solar time of the 105 ° W meridian, which differs by 7 hours from Coordinated Universal Time.

- a time zone that corresponds to the solar time of the 105 ° W meridian, which differs by 7 hours from Coordinated Universal Time. PST (Pacific Standard Time) - a time zone that corresponds to the solar time of the 120 ° W meridian, which is 8 hours different from Coordinated Universal Time.

- a time zone that corresponds to the solar time of the 120 ° W meridian, which is 8 hours different from Coordinated Universal Time. DST (daylight saving time) - local time adopted by a given country for a certain period of the year, usually one hour ahead of the standard zone time. Time changes are to result in the more effective use of daylight.

- local time adopted by a given country for a certain period of the year, usually one hour ahead of the standard zone time. Time changes are to result in the more effective use of daylight. and there’s also military time- this is the most widely used interval notation in the world. It’s based on a 24-hour clock, a way to keep track of how long a day runs from midnight to midnight, divided into 24-hour increments.

Okay, now that you know the basics of time zones, it’s good to also know the difference between AM and PM.

It’s simple as that:

AM = Ante meridiem: Before noon

PM = Post meridiem: After noon

4. Make a strict plan

Without a plan, we’d all run around and go crazy after a week of relentless chaos. So remember- you NEED to have a strict plan and stick to it, whatever happens.

Everyone in the team should have clearly defined tasks, and each task should have a specific deadline. And this deadline should be followed. That’s the main rule. The second rule is: try to be two steps ahead. In the event of a sudden failure, this will avoid huge delays. This will save you a lot of trouble of doing tasks at the last minute. More forward-thinking, less stress. Choose the work mode that best suits your project and is the best for your team. There are a few project management methodologies that will help your time to work fluently with the project:

Agile - Agile assumes that the entire course cannot be accurately planned at the start of the project. Therefore, the work is divided into short cycles (usually 1 to 4 weeks) called sprints. In this cycle, the team plans their own work, tests designs, programs, and solutions, and receives customer feedback. Iterative work practices provide a smaller portion of the final solution on a regular basis, giving you greater flexibility when the scope of your project changes.

- Agile assumes that the entire course cannot be accurately planned at the start of the project. Therefore, the work is divided into short cycles (usually 1 to 4 weeks) called sprints. In this cycle, the team plans their own work, tests designs, programs, and solutions, and receives customer feedback. Iterative work practices provide a smaller portion of the final solution on a regular basis, giving you greater flexibility when the scope of your project changes. Scrum - All tasks to be done are kept in the Sprint Backlog, which is managed by the Product Owner, organizing and updating the list on an ongoing basis. The team meets daily on the Daily Scrum to keep themselves updated on the work. At the end of the project, a Sprint Review takes place, where the team presents the final result. The last stage is Sprint Retrospective, where the team looks at how it worked and introduces improvements.

- All tasks to be done are kept in the Sprint Backlog, which is managed by the Product Owner, organizing and updating the list on an ongoing basis. The team meets daily on the Daily Scrum to keep themselves updated on the work. At the end of the project, a Sprint Review takes place, where the team presents the final result. The last stage is Sprint Retrospective, where the team looks at how it worked and introduces improvements. Kanban - The assumption of this method is the optimization of the work process- information, planning, division, and control of individual Kanban activities is based on process visualization using a physical or virtual kanban table. The simplest layout of such a board is divided into “to do”, “in progress” and “done” activities, which can be described at different levels of detail. The system used should depend on the needs of the project. It allows you to present both very simple processes as well as extremely complex, involving many teams. The board can connect different teams focused on one task.

- The assumption of this method is the optimization of the work process- information, planning, division, and control of individual Kanban activities is based on process visualization using a physical or virtual kanban table. The simplest layout of such a board is divided into “to do”, “in progress” and “done” activities, which can be described at different levels of detail. The system used should depend on the needs of the project. It allows you to present both very simple processes as well as extremely complex, involving many teams. The board can connect different teams focused on one task. Waterfall- The waterfall model, as the name implies, is a classic system based on the principles of the series. Each subsequent design phase continues one at a time. Each is subject to separate tests and usability checks. If changes or conversions are needed, this can be done in the relevant part and with the person responsible for this part. Repeat as many times as necessary to reach the goal.

5. Use planning tools

The person supervising your team from elsewhere in the world should have an overview of your work. Thanks to this, you, as a team, know what to do, and the manager knows that you know your tasks. All tasks need to be well planned, one onsite and the other accessible to both overseas teams. Some planning tools may help. Here is some of them:

6. Be elastic with your time

A more flexible time frame for starting and ending work is a great relief for people working in different time zones. For example, you will have the opportunity to work at the same time as an Australian-based company, allowing you to get in touch with your team quickly.

More and more IT companies are abandoning strict working hours and allowing you to work at any time. There are those who prefer to work as soon as dawn breaks, and there are those who prefer to get some sleep and then work tirelessly until the late evening. At the end of the day, productivity is the most important thing.

This is very important when working in various time zones as sometimes the working hours can be really different. Prepare yourself for a little sacrifice. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to have a schedule that suits everyone. The disadvantage is that meetings can be held late at night or early in the morning outside normal working hours. Company directors may not have time for us until 10 o’clock and we may have to adapt.

Working in different time zones doesn’t need to be hard.

Thanks to the Internet, working in different time zones has become possible. And it’s worth it! As a result, our customer network will grow. Of course, sometimes you have to be flexible and bend your working hours, but a lot of it depends on being well organized. With these simple tips, you might know how to go about it wisely.