Many remote clients are in Europe, North America or the Middle East. A meeting booked for "9am" means nothing until you know whose 9am. Getting this wrong means missed calls and an unhappy client, and it is one of the easiest mistakes to avoid.
Ghana's clock
Ghana uses Greenwich Mean Time, written GMT, which is the same as UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). Ghana does not change its clocks during the year. That makes you a fixed point, which is useful.
Clients whose clocks move
Many countries move their clocks forward one hour in their summer, called daylight saving time or summer time, and back again later. Some examples:
- United Kingdom: the same as Ghana in winter, one hour ahead of Ghana in summer (late March to late October).
- Eastern United States (New York): five hours behind Ghana in winter, four hours behind in summer. The US changes its clocks on different dates from the UK.
- Countries such as the United Arab Emirates: ahead of Ghana and do not change their clocks.
Because the gap can change twice a year, never memorise one number. Check the current difference whenever it matters.
Habits that prevent mistakes
- Always write the time zone. "Tuesday 3pm GMT" or "Tuesday 10am New York time". Never just "3pm".