Managing your schedule across different time zones

Greetings, Training for Translators subscribers! I hope you’re all doing well as the seasons start to change! 

Medical marketing class tomorrow!

This month’s master class, Marketing with purpose: how medical translators and interpreters can attract the right clients, is tomorrow (Wednesday, September 24). Guest instructor Ana Sofia Correia will talk about how to improve your visibility and outreach (for agencies or direct clients), and how to market in a more focused way. Registration is $75 and includes the recording; we have a big group signed up and there’s still room for you! 

This week’s topic: Managing your schedule across different time zones

In a recent T4T online course alumni Q&A, we tackled a very practical challenge: how to manage your schedule across different time zones (thanks to Heidi L. for suggesting this topic!). Many of us live in constant fear of missing a meeting or deadline because of a time zone mix-up, and it’s surprisingly easy to have this happen (ask me how I know!).

Tip 1: Use both a paper and an electronic calendar

Think of this as a “belt and suspenders” approach.

• Paper calendar: You can write down appointments exactly as you want, with any notes you need. For example, if I know I’ll be on the East Coast for an interpreting job, I’ll write “Assignment XYZ, 9 AM Eastern.” The downside is that paper calendars can be lost, and they don’t send reminders or warn you of double bookings. To prevent disaster, I photograph mine regularly.
• Electronic calendar: These are harder to lose, and you can accept invites automatically, send reminders, and flag conflicts. The tricky part is time zone changes: it’s easy to forget whether your appointments shifted correctly when you travel or when daylight savings changes.

Tip 2: Double-check everything

This is obvious but essential. Many of my clients in U.S. Eastern time don’t send calendar invites, so I have to calculate the time difference myself. My system: say it out loud and then write it down—“This is at 9 AM Eastern, which is 7 AM Mountain. Writing it down for 7 AM.” That extra pause has saved me more than once.

Tip 3: Watch for unusual time zones and seasonal quirks

Some examples that often trip people (or at least me!) up:

• Canadian Atlantic Time (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island) is an hour ahead of Eastern time. If you think of Eastern as being the Easternmost North American time zone, it’s not!
• Greece uses Eastern European Time, even though it’s due south of Central Europe; I learned this the hard way when I showed up late to present a webinar to a group in Greece.
• The Navajo Nation observes Daylight Saving time, unlike the rest of Arizona. Maybe this doesn’t apply to many people, but I go to the Navajo Nation pretty frequently with our animal rescue group!
• Nepal runs on its own zone, offset by 45 minutes instead of a full hour. I’m including this purely because it’s interesting, and I didn’t believe it until I went to Nepal!
• During British Summer Time, BST is one hour ahead of GMT. 
• The U.S. and Europe switch between Standard/Daylight or Summer/Winter time on different dates. This year, Europe changes on October 26 and the U.S. on November 2, creating a one-week mismatch. Some regions don’t switch at all (Iceland, Belarus, Hawaii, and most of Arizona). This honestly would be my dream come true: I don’t have a strong preference for Daylight or Standard time, but I despise the switch! 

Tip 4: Use a world clock

Most smartphones include a world clock, though you may need to select a city (not just “Canadian Atlantic Time”). Websites like World Clock not only show you the time anywhere in the world, offer a meeting planner tool that makes this easier.

A simple tip from one of my alumni: on the day of a meeting, just Google “What time is it in London?” (or wherever) to be sure.

Bonus tip: Keep a second clock

When I traveled to Fiji for vacation in May, I didn’t want to calculate an 18-hour difference every time I checked my schedule. My solution: leave my sports watch set to Colorado time while my phone switched to Fiji time. Since the watch also displayed the date, it was easy to orient myself. If you often work between two specific time zones, keeping a second clock in your office can be a lifesaver.
I hope these tips are helpful! Have a great week!

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