These days, we are going on more and more video meetings. And, sometimes, they’re with people in other time zones (pretty common, especially since there are quite a few in the USA).
And, naturally, sometimes our wires get crossed, and we mess up meeting times as a result!
“When was it she said we’d meet? Noon, right? Okay, cool.”
-at noon-
“Alright, I’ve logged into Zoom. Oh, good, my camera and mic are working perfectly. Dang, I look sharp!”
Five minutes pass…
“Where the heck is she? Oh, darnit! She’s in the Pacific Time Zone, and I’m Central. Okay, so then we’ve got a bit of waiting to do. Grrrrrr! I wish this was easier!”
Time zones are an interesting part of life as we know it. Oddly enough, when time zones were created, many areas with frequent contact were intentionally put in the same time zone.
But, in this modern world of video meetings, we can just as easily talk to someone in town – or halfway around the globe.
At the center of all of it is Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), established in January of 1960. All of the many time zones of the world all link to UTC and are indicated by how many hours off from UTC they are. Did you know UTC actually belongs to the United Kingdom?
The trick is, when you book a meeting with someone in another time zone, you would add or subtract the difference between your zone and theirs. For example, New York City is at -5, and Los Angeles is at -8. Naturally, we know that Eastern and Pacific are 3 hours apart, but the above map shows us how that works.
Or, even easier, just click here for a handy converter that does the work for you.
Time isn’t always about being prompt for meetings and the hours ticking by in a day (although we do our best to ensure that we’re always on time when we meet with you – no matter where you are).
Time is the biggest asset you can have on your side as you save up for retirement. So, it’s best to get started now if you’re, um, late to that party. If you want my expert eyes on your finances, call 513-563-PLAN (7526) or click here to book a chat.
