Let’s face it: keeping your business calendar straight while traveling can sometimes feel impossible. Whether you’re working from airport lounges or hotel rooms across different time zones, one small mix-up can throw off your entire week.
The good news? A few simple tweaks can save you from calendar chaos, no matter where your business takes you.
Actually Block Your Travel Days
Here’s the thing that is important to not forget—if your calendar looks open, people will book it. To avoid this, add all of your travel details to your calendar, such as:
- Getting-to-the-airport time
- Your actual flights plus buffer time
- Getting settled time
Pro tip: Drop your full itinerary right into these calendar blocks. Future you will thank you when you’re digging for a confirmation number or tracking expenses later.
Pick Your Time Zone Game Plan
You’ve got two options here, and honestly, both work great—it just depends on how your brain operates.
(1) Stick with What You Know (Your Home Time Zone)
Keep everything in your home time zone and don’t change a thing. This works beautifully if you’re just working from a different desk for a few days or want to keep all your regular meetings exactly as they are. The downside? You’ll be doing time zone math in your head constantly. Keep in mind that a “9AM call” might actually be 6AM if you’re on the West Coast.
(2) Go All-In on Local Time
Switch everything to local time the moment you land. Your phone, your calendar, your whole mindset—everything matches where you actually are. For many people this feels more natural, especially if you’re staying put for a while or attending events in that time zone.
Eliminate the Guesswork
No matter which option you pick, here are few little “tricks of the trade”:
Set up dual time zones in your calendar.
Most calendar apps let you see both your home time and local time side by side. I previously wrote a blog post with step-by-step instructions for setting up multiple time zones in your Google Calendar that you can refer to by clicking HERE.
Get specific with meeting titles.
Instead of an event title, “Team Check-in,” try “Team Check-in (3 PM ET / 12 PM PT).” Take the extra step to help prevent any future confusion.
Use per-event time zones.
Both Google Calendar and Outlook let you set individual meetings to different time zones without messing up your whole system. Super handy for those “I need this meeting to make sense for everyone” moments.
Make It Actually Work
Here’s the one thing that truly makes all the difference: figure this out before you leave home. And if you have an assistant or team members handling your schedule, be sure to communicate your travel preferences so everyone is on the same page.
Your calendar should make traveling easier, not harder. With a little upfront planning, you can keep your business meetings running smoothly whether you’re at your desk or sipping coffee in a completely different time zone.