Meetings
How to send a meeting invite that shows the right time for everyone
A calendar invite already knows how to show each person their own time. Most mix-ups come from the words around it, from the event being saved in the wrong time zone, or from a repeating meeting meeting daylight saving time. Here is how to get all three right in Google Calendar, Outlook and Apple Calendar.
Key takeaways
- A calendar event stores one exact moment. Every attendee’s calendar shows it in their own time zone automatically; the text you write does not change.
- Before you send, check the event’s time zone. It should be the zone the meeting “belongs” to, usually the organiser’s.
- In the invite text, give the time in a city (“9:00 AM New York”), not “EST”, and list the other cities’ times too.
- A weekly meeting stays fixed in its own time zone. When clocks change somewhere else, it moves by an hour there, so warn people in advance.
On this page
How calendar invites handle time zones
When you create an event, your calendar saves it as a single moment in time together with a time zone, for example “Tuesday 9:00 AM, America/New_York”. When the invite reaches someone in India, their calendar turns that moment into their own time and shows 7:30 PM. Nobody has to convert anything, as long as two things are true: the event was saved with the right time zone, and people read the time from their calendar rather than from the text of the email.
That second point is where most mistakes happen. If the description says “see you at 9 AM”, the reader in India sees 7:30 PM in the calendar and 9 AM in the text, and has to guess which is right.
Google Calendar
Set the event’s time zone
Open the full event editor (not the small pop-up), then select Time zone next to the date. You can pick the zone the meeting belongs to, and there is an option to use separate start and end time zones, which is useful for flights. If you do not choose, Google uses your calendar’s own time zone.
See two or three time zones at once
In Settings, under Time zone, you can show an additional time zone next to your calendar grid, and a third one as well. It only changes what you see; it does not change your events. It is the quickest way to spot that the slot you are about to pick is 11 PM for a colleague.
Travelling?
Google can ask to update your primary time zone when you arrive somewhere new. Say yes if you want your calendar to show local times while you travel; your events keep their exact moments either way.
Outlook
Set the time zone of a meeting
In a new meeting in classic Outlook for Windows, select Time zones in the ribbon. Time zone boxes appear next to the start and end times, and you can choose the zone the meeting should be anchored to. Outlook for Mac and Outlook on the web have a time zone option in the event form as well.
Show up to three time zones
Outlook for Microsoft 365 can display up to three time zones side by side in the calendar (older versions such as Outlook 2016 show two). In classic Outlook the setting is under File > Options > Calendar > Time zones. Like Google’s version, these extra time bars are only a view; they do not change how meetings are stored.
Apple Calendar (Mac, iPhone, iPad)
On a Mac, open Calendar > Settings > Advanced and turn on time zone support. A time zone menu then appears in every event, and in the calendar toolbar.
On an iPhone or iPad there is a setting called Time Zone Override under Settings > Calendar (Settings > Apps > Calendar on recent versions). When it is off, events are shown in the time zone you are in. When it is on, they are always shown in the zone you pick, which is handy if you want your calendar to stay on home time while you travel, and confusing if you forget you turned it on.
Writing the invite text
People forward invites, paste them into chats and read them on phones where the calendar is not open. The text should be right on its own:
- Name the city, not the abbreviation. “9:00 AM New York” is always right. “9:00 AM EST” is wrong for most of the year, because New York uses EDT from March to November. If you must use an abbreviation, “ET” and “PT” cover both.
- List everyone’s local time. One line per city costs nothing and saves every reader a conversion.
- Include the date for places already on the next day. A 7 PM Monday call in Los Angeles is Tuesday morning in Sydney.
- Say how long it is, so people can see whether it runs into their evening.
A clear invite looks like this:
Weekly product sync (every Tuesday, 45 min)
November to March: New York 9:00 AM · London 2:00 PM · India 7:30 PM · Singapore 10:00 PM
Recurring meetings and daylight saving time
A repeating meeting is stored in one time zone. If it is set to 9:00 AM New York, it stays at 9:00 AM in New York all year, and moves for everyone whose clocks change on a different day, or not at all.
| A 9:00 AM New York meeting | Nov – mid-MarNew York on EST | mid-Mar – NovNew York on EDT |
|---|---|---|
| London | 2:00 PM | 2:00 PM (1:00 PM for a few weeks) |
| India | 7:30 PM | 6:30 PM |
| Singapore | 10:00 PM | 9:00 PM |
| Sydney | 1:00 AM next day | 11:00 PM (Apr–Sep) |
India never changes its clocks, so for people there the meeting moves twice a year. The UK and the US change on different dates, so for a few weeks each year the gap between London and New York is 4 hours instead of 5: in 2026 from 25 October to 1 November, and in 2027 from 14 to 28 March. A 9:00 AM New York meeting is at 1:00 PM in London during those weeks, not 2:00 PM.
Two habits prevent most problems. Anchor the meeting in the time zone of the person who can least move it. And send a short reminder the week before a clock change, with the new local times.
Before you press send
- The event’s time zone is the one the meeting belongs to.
- The slot is inside working hours for everyone, or the early or late slot is shared fairly.
- The invite text names cities and lists each local time.
- For a repeating meeting, you know what happens at the next clock change.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my invite show the wrong time for someone?
Usually because the event was saved in the wrong time zone, or because the person read the time in the email text instead of in their calendar. Check the event’s time zone, and write each city’s time in the invite text.
Should I write EST or ET?
Write the city, for example 9:00 AM New York. If you use an abbreviation, ET is correct all year; EST is only correct from November to March.
Does a recurring meeting change when clocks change?
It stays at the same local time in the time zone it is saved in, and moves by an hour for anyone whose clocks change on a different date, or never change, such as India.
Can the other person see the meeting in their own time zone?
Yes. Their calendar converts the event automatically. Our planner’s share link also shows the meeting in the reader’s own time zone in a browser.
Sources
- Google Calendar Help – Use Google Calendar in different time zones
- Microsoft Support – Manage time zone settings in Outlook
- Microsoft Support – Set the time zone for a meeting in Outlook for Mac
Checked on 30 September 2026. Times on this page are worked out with the IANA time zone database; live clocks use your browser’s copy of it.