Best Time for Video Conferences Across 5+ Continents: Truly Global Meeting Solutions

Quick Answer

No single perfect time exists. Choose:

Option A: Sacrifice Asia (Most Common)

• 8:00 AM Pacific / 4:00 PM London / 12:00 AM Asia
• Coverage: Americas + Europe (80% of knowledge workers)
• Asia: Middle of night (record for async review)

Option B: Sacrifice Europe

• 8:00 PM London / 3:00 AM London (impossible)
• Not viable; never choose this

Option C: Split into 2 Sessions

• Session A (9 AM PT): Americas + Europe
• Session B (8 AM Asia): Asia + Australia + Europe morning

Option D: Async-Heavy Model (Increasingly Popular)

• Live meeting: 2-3 people in same timezone
• Async: Recorded video updates from other zones
• Requires different mindset; very scalable

5-Continent Realistic Solution

If you truly need 5 continents in one call:

1. Accept someone gets terrible time (10 PM or 5 AM)
2. Rotate monthly who gets sacrificed
3. Offer voluntary attendance (mandatory for decision-makers only)
4. Always record; async viewing for those with bad timing

Better Reality: Most "global" meetings are really "Americas + Europe." Handle Asia separately or async.

When to Use Each Option

Single Session: News announcements, emergencies, quick decisions Two Sessions: Keynotes, important announcements, strategic decisions Async-Heavy: Ongoing standups, regular updates, routine meetings

Conclusion

Accept that global meetings have timezone tradeoffs. Two sessions or async-heavy models often produce better results than forcing everyone into one suboptimal time.

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Related:

• US timezone meetings
• Team standups distributed