# Travel >> Travel Preparation >> General Travel Prep

How to Calculate Time Difference in Minutes

As the Internet spreads across the world, business and social interaction has become an increasingly international affair. Calculating time differences between time zones is an important step in phone call or email etiquette; when working with clients a few hours outside of your time zone, you don't want to call accidentally in the middle of the night. Figuring out time difference in minutes is similar to figuring it out in hours, with a small modification.

Instructions

- 1
  Identify two time zones that you would like to compare. For instance, if you live on the East coast and want to calculate the time difference to California, you would be converting from Eastern time to Pacific Standard time.
- 2
  Note your current local time as well as the time in the zone you are converting to. If you're not sure of the time in the target area, try using an online time zone converter to get an accurate reading.
- 3
  Count the number of hours between the time zones. For example, in the Eastern to Pacific conversion mentioned in Step 1, there would be a total of three hours' difference.
- 4
  Multiply the total number of hours by 60. There are 60 minutes in an hour, so this quick calculation will show you the difference in minutes. Following the Eastern to Pacific example, three hours multiplied by 60 would be 180 minutes.