How to Avoid Time Zone Errors in Calendar Invites

Set the right time zone, include labels, and protect meetings from DST surprises—especially for recurring events.

This guide focuses on practical steps you can use immediately—whether you’re scheduling a call, planning travel, or publishing a time on a website.

Why people get this wrong

Humans naturally think in local time, but online audiences are distributed. The moment your message crosses time zones, a “simple time” becomes a conversion problem.

Most errors happen when the time is written without enough context or when DST changes the gap between two places for a few weeks.

A reliable format to use

Use this pattern in announcements and invites:

Day, Date — Time (Time Zone)
Optional: include a second zone for international audiences

Example:

Tue, Jan 14 — 2:00 PM ET (11:00 AM PT)

If you publish time on a webpage, display a live converter and store the canonical value as an IANA time zone plus timestamp.

Quick examples

Try these mini-examples when you’re unsure:

If two people are on US coasts, always include both ET and PT in the same sentence.
For a global team, use UTC in the calendar invite title and local time in the description.
For recurring meetings, set the meeting in the organizer’s time zone and let calendars convert automatically.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to include the date as well as the time? Yes—especially when conversions cross midnight.
Is an abbreviation like “EST” always correct? Not always. Prefer ET or an IANA time zone name.
What’s the fastest way to confirm accuracy? Open a converter and verify with the time zone name, not just the offset.