Working across time zones: India with the US, UK and Australia

Time-zone differences can be an advantage: work can progress while you sleep. It just needs a little structure.

The basics

India Standard Time (IST) is UTC+5:30 and India does not observe daylight saving time. That means the gap to your city changes when your clocks change.

Typical overlaps

• London: India is 4 hours 30 minutes ahead during British Summer Time and 5 hours 30 minutes ahead in winter. 9:00–11:00 in London is 13:30–16:30 in India, depending on the season.
• New York: India is 9 hours 30 minutes ahead during US daylight time and 10 hours 30 minutes ahead in winter. 8:00–9:00 in New York is evening in India; many freelancers offer an evening overlap.
• San Francisco: India is 12 hours 30 minutes ahead during US daylight time and 13 hours 30 minutes in winter. Plan for asynchronous updates, with an occasional early-morning US or late-evening India call.
• Sydney: Sydney is 4 hours 30 minutes ahead of India in AEST and 5 hours 30 minutes ahead in AEDT, so a large part of the working day overlaps.

Always double-check with a world-clock tool around daylight-saving changes.

Habits that work

1. Agree a fixed overlap window — even 30–60 minutes a day.
2. Default to written updates. A short end-of-day note: done, next, blockers.
3. Use milestones so progress is visible without meetings.
4. Record short demos instead of scheduling a call for every review.
5. Respect local holidays. Ask your freelancer about major Indian festivals (for example Diwali) when planning deadlines.

On Freelancers India

Use the message thread for each job to keep decisions in one place, and the contract's milestones to show what's in progress, submitted and approved.