The shorter the time change, the more likely I am to screw it up. My brain likes to convert the wrong direction when I’m dealing with just an hour or two. That smartphone in your pocket is good for so much more than Candy Crush, selfies, and Instagram. I’m certainly guilty of spending way too long scrolling through feeds and panging with wanderlust, but it’s time to put that phone to a better use. To maintain my moniker of a part-time world traveler, I spent winter 2016 in Europe, living in Berlin for all of November.

With everyone attending the meeting separately on video calls, regardless of their location, everyone is on a level playing field. It makes it easier to track who is speaking and avoids prioritising communication between select groups. When it comes to quick communication some tools, like Slack, will even give you a notification before or after you send a message stating which timezone your recipient is in. “When you work in different timezones, it’s important to be aware of when you’re sending a message or email,” says Rebecca White, a junior writer for the HubSpot Blog. “If you’re working two timezones that don’t overlap much, why not split your shift into two instead of doing the same number of hours consecutively?” asks Kelly. Working during one chunk of the day caters to your timezone, followed by another shift that caters to another team’s timezone, is often called a split shift.

Follow this meeting protocol when working remotely

Managing different time zones, language barriers, and cultural differences can be frustrating. For teams working across time zones, it can be tempting to respond to notifications that come in after your normal working day has finished. That’s particularly true when your input is essential to the progress of a project. If only part of your team works from a different time zone, it can still be useful to have every individual attend meetings via video calls. This way, you can sidestep any divisions between the different teams.

Although it can get challenging at times to manage a geographically dispersed team, there are still many more benefits to the approach. And this is particularly why we’re seeing a consistent increase in the number of companies employing globally. Let’s break down all the benefits of working across time zones to get a working remotely in a different time zone better understanding of the trend. The main project management tools include Trello, Basecamp, and Asana, which keep track of what everyone is working on as it progresses through the pipeline. Teams can use Slack for better communication, which will also assist you overcome the disadvantages of a remote working team.

How to Work Across Time Zones as a Remote Team: Best Practices

If meeting during these hours really is unavoidable, rotate meeting times to avoid prioritising one time zone over another. But working across time zones can also present various technological challenges. Read on for advice on how to take advantage of time zone differences, establish crystal clear communication, and keep everyone working from the same page, wherever they are. Explore the key findings, benefits, and features highlighted by Gartner, showcasing Lark as a leader in advanced enterprise collaboration and management. Learn how Lark’s all-in-one collaborative work suite and business collaboration tools contribute to enhanced communication, collaboration, and productivity in the evolving digital workplace landscape. Expecting your teammates to be “always-on” doesn’t create the best culture and might make them feel disrespected.

So usually, on most teams, there are going to be one or two hours of overlap that you can have and really prioritize that time together. And one suggestion that I’ll make is in that overlap time, try to spend time on video together. Even though you should still be aware of the time zones of others, setting one official time zone for your company can help reduce misunderstandings. Suppose you work in one country but half your team is located in another.