(Tech Tip: Outlook) Scheduling in another Time Zone

If you are a New Yorker going to London and have a 5pm meeting (UK time), it's tempting to schedule your appointment at 5pm (in NY time).  Don't do that!

Schedule them in New York time (noon) and once you get there , tell your computer, Blackberry, whatever that you are in a new time zone (some devices do it automatically).  Then your appointments will all appear correctly AND you will know in local time about things happening in NY.  Might want to turn those alerts off at night!

You should always schedule the time in the 'real' time (that is,  in the actual time it occurs in your own time zone) and not try to 'trick' the calendar.

Fortunately, Outlook 2007 gives you an easy way of doing it.  This is not required but makes it easier for you than doing the mental calculations .

The result will be the same - the appointment shows up in local time on your calendar and also in the correct local time on the traveler's (or foreigner's) calendar.

1. Click on the 'Time zones' button to show the time zones next to the times.

2. Change the Time zone to the local time zone of the meeting and set the time according to the local time.

3. An optional trick is to pick one time zone for the start and a different one for the end so you can 'see' what it means on both sides.