Keeping Two Clocks on My Desktop for Work

I keep two clocks on my desktop, one local and one for the team I work with most. The second clock is not a decoration. It answers a specific question before I send an email or join a call: what is their day doing right now?

I add it in the system clock settings or a small menu bar app. Then I label it with the city and the people, not just the time zone. A label like “Dublin — Aisling/Dev” reminds me who I am thinking about. The default abbreviation is easy to ignore, and I stop seeing it after a day.

I also set the second clock to show a 24-hour format. That removes a small hesitation around 6 p.m. versus 18:00. When I glance at it, I want a clear read, not a conversion puzzle.

The main benefit is avoiding late emails. If my clock says it is 5:40 p.m. here, the second one might say 10:40 p.m. there. I do not send a routine message at that hour unless I know the person works late. I schedule it for their morning instead. Say I am in Chicago and my colleague is in Berlin; a quick check keeps me from treating my end of day as their end of day.

A short list I use when setting this up:

• Put the second clock where I actually look during the day.
• Label it with the city and the colleague or team.
• Use 24-hour time to avoid morning/evening mistakes.
• Check it before email, not after writing.

I still verify during daylight saving changes. A desktop clock should make me pause, not guess. If I am unsure what zone I am in or what the offset is called, I check What Time Zone Am I In rather than rely on memory. The second clock is a small habit, but it has saved me from a few apologetic follow-ups.

— Chris Walker