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Fair meeting rotation
Plan a recurring meeting for a team spread across time zones so the early and late calls are shared out fairly, not left to the same people every week. Compare the plan with one fixed time, then copy the schedule or add it to your calendar.
The plan
Who takes the inconvenient hours
- One fixed time
- This rotation
Meetings outside working hours, and pain points, for each person: with one fixed time and with this rotation.
| Person | Fixed time: meetings outside working hours | Fixed time: points | Rotation: meetings outside working hours | Rotation: points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex | – | – | – | – |
| Priya | – | – | – | – |
| Lena | – | – | – | – |
Schedule
| Date | Alex, New York | Priya, Bengaluru | Lena, Berlin |
|---|---|---|---|
| – | – | – | – |
| – | – | – | – |
| – | – | – | – |
| – | – | – | – |
| – | – | – | – |
| – | – | – | – |
| – | – | – | – |
| – | – | – | – |
| – | – | – | – |
| – | – | – | – |
| – | – | – | – |
| – | – | – | – |
| – | – | – | – |
An .ics file made on your device, with every meeting as its own event, at the right time for everyone.
How the pain score works
- Inside working hours, a meeting costs 0 points.
- Outside them, 3 points, plus every hour outside: 1 point in the first hour away from the working day, 2 in the second, 3 in the third, 4 after that.
- From 10 PM to 7 AM those hourly points count double, and from midnight to 5 AM triple.
- On the person’s weekend, 4 more points an hour; running past their midnight, 2 more.
- Times outside someone’s limits (never before, never after) aren’t used.
- The plan keeps the sum of everyone’s total squared as low as it can, so whoever has had the worst of it is spared next.
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How to plan a fair meeting rotation
- Add each person with their city, working hours, any times they can’t meet, and their weekend.
- Choose how long the meeting is, how often, on which days and until when: 13 weekly meetings make a quarter.
- Choose the best time each meeting or a rotation between 2 or 3 fixed times, then read the plan, its comparison with one fixed time and the schedule.
Questions
How is the pain score worked out?
Inside a person’s working hours a meeting costs nothing. Outside them it costs 3 points, plus points for every hour outside: 1 in the first hour away from their working day, 2 in the second, 3 in the third and 4 after that. Between 10 PM and 7 AM those hourly points count double, and between midnight and 5 AM triple. A meeting on their weekend adds 4 points an hour, and one that runs past their midnight 2 more. Times outside a person’s limits, such as “never before 7 AM”, are never used.
What makes a plan fair?
The planner keeps the sum of each person’s total points squared as low as it can. Squaring makes one big total count much more than several small ones, so the plan spares whoever has had the worst of it so far while keeping the total low. With “Best time each meeting”, every meeting gets its own time; with 2 or 3 fixed times, every set of times is tried and the fairest rotation kept.
Does it handle daylight saving time?
Yes. Each meeting uses that day’s real offsets from your browser, so when a place changes its clocks during the range, its times move and the points are worked out again. Times are planned in the first person’s time zone, as a calendar invitation would be.
Why does someone still have most of the bad hours?
Sometimes geography decides: if every time inside one person’s working day falls in the middle of the night for someone else, the plan shares what it can and says so. Changing working hours or limits, or splitting the team into two meeting times, can help.
Is my team’s information sent anywhere?
No. The plan is worked out in your browser. Names and places are kept only in this browser on your device, and Copy link puts them in the link itself, after the #, a part of the address that browsers never send to a website.