Best Working Hours for Digital Nomads

The digital nomad dream: work from anywhere. Beach in Bali. Cafe in Lisbon. Mountains in Medellín.

The digital nomad reality: It's 3 AM your time and your client wants to hop on a "quick call."

I've been working remotely across timezones for years, and let me tell you — figuring out when to work is harder than figuring out where to work.

Here's what I've learned.

The Timezone Puzzle Nobody Warns You About

Remote workers in one location have it easy. They adjust once and they're done.

Digital nomads? You're constantly readjusting. New city every month or two means new timezone math every time.

Your optimal hours depend on a few things:

Who Pays You

This is the big one.

US clients while you're in Europe: 6-8 hour gap. Manageable. You work afternoons/evenings, they get you in their mornings.

US clients while you're in Southeast Asia: 12-15 hours apart. Brutal. Someone's working weird hours, period.

US clients while you're in South America: 1-5 hours different. Perfect. Almost like you're in the same country.

European clients from Asia: 5-7 hours works okay. Their afternoon, your evening.

Multiple regions: This is where it gets messy. You'll probably end up with split shifts — morning session for one zone, evening for another.

Your Body Clock

Are you an early bird or a night owl?

If you naturally wake at 6 AM, taking early calls with clients in later timezones is fine. If you're at your best after 10 PM, you can sync with Western clients while based in Asia.

Fight your natural rhythms long enough and you'll burn out. Trust me on this.

What Works Where

Let me break down the popular nomad destinations:

Southeast Asia (Thailand, Bali, Vietnam)

With US clients:

You're 12-15 hours apart from the US. It's rough.

Morning option: Work 7-10 AM your time to catch their evening (4-7 PM PST).

Evening option: Work 8-11 PM your time for their morning (5-8 AM PST).

Honestly? Split shifts work best. Deep work 7-11 AM, meetings 7-10 PM. Not ideal but sustainable if you rotate it.

With European clients:

Better! 5-7 hours apart.

Work 2-6 PM your time to catch their mornings (9 AM-1 PM CET). A normal 10 AM-6 PM schedule handles this fine.

With Australian clients:

Perfect. You're only 1-3 hours behind. Standard 9-5 works.

Europe (Portugal, Spain, Eastern Europe)

Europe's the sweet spot if you have mixed clients.

With US clients:

Work 3-7 PM your time, hit their mornings (9 AM-1 PM EST). Do deep work in your mornings, save afternoons for calls.

With Asian clients:

Start early. 7-9 AM your time catches their afternoons (2-4 PM Singapore).

With both:

Split it: 7-10 AM for Asia, 3-7 PM for Americas. Your midday is free to explore or work async.

Latin America (Mexico, Colombia, Argentina)

With US clients:

You won the timezone lottery. Mexico and Colombia are basically US timezones. Work normal 9-5 hours.

Argentina's a couple hours ahead, still easy. Minor adjustment at most.

With European clients:

Start early — 7-10 AM your time catches their afternoons. Totally doable.

Middle East and Africa

Dubai:

Great for Europe and Asia. Mornings overlap with Europe, evenings with Asia. US West Coast? You're staying up late.

South Africa:

Same timezone as Europe in winter. Morning overlap with Asia. Afternoon/evening with US East Coast. Really good mix if you have global clients.

Three Scheduling Models That Work

Core Hours Model

Pick 3-4 hours that are non-negotiable sync time. Block them for meetings and calls. Everything else is async.

Protect your deep work time outside these hours. That's when you actually get stuff done.

Build buffer days when you move cities. Don't schedule important calls during travel.

Split Shift Model

Morning: 7-11 AM — deep work, independent tasks

Break: 11 AM-3 PM — gym, explore, live your life

Evening: 3-7 PM — meetings, emails, calls

Works great when your overlap hours hit afternoons or evenings.

Anchor Timezone Model

Pick one timezone (usually where most clients are) and stick to it regardless of where you physically are.

Benefit: Consistent availability. Clients know when you're online.

Downside: Might mean 6 AM calls from Bali or 10 PM work sessions from Buenos Aires.

Best for freelancers with clients concentrated in one region.

Practical Stuff That Helps

Set up world clocks on your phone for client timezones. Saves you from constantly calculating.

**Use Whenest** to visualize overlaps. Stops you from accidentally scheduling calls at 3 AM your time.

Tell people when you're moving. "Hey, I'm heading to Thailand next week, my availability will shift — here's my new core hours."

Give yourself 2-3 days to adjust when you hit a new timezone. Don't pack those days with meetings.

Travel days are for async work. Emails, documentation, code reviews. Not client calls.

Take Care of Yourself

Sleep

Keep consistent sleep hours even if work hours shift. 7-9 hours minimum. Don't schedule important stuff during your normal sleep time.

Screen Time

Blue light filters for evening sessions. Take breaks, especially during weird hours. Good lighting matters.

Stay Human

Don't isolate yourself for work. Join local communities. Keep calling friends and family back home.

Working at odd hours to accommodate clients is isolating enough without cutting off all non-work human contact.

Tools Worth Using

Time zones: Whenest for finding overlaps, World Time Buddy for quick comparisons

Scheduling: Calendly or Cal.com (auto-adjusts for timezones), Google Calendar with multiple zone views

Communication: Slack for async, Loom for async video updates

Mistakes to Avoid

Over-committing to sync: Don't promise 24/7 availability. Set boundaries. Use async for most stuff.

Fighting your body clock: If you're a night owl, stop trying to take 6 AM calls. Pick destinations that fit your rhythm, or find clients in timezones that work.

No routine: Constant change erodes productivity. Keep some habits that travel with you.

Skipping vacation: Being in Bali doesn't mean you're on vacation. Take actual time off.

Long-Term Sustainability

Travel in clusters. Southeast Asia → Australia → New Zealand is easier than Southeast Asia → Europe → South America in quick succession.

Work your way across regions instead of ping-ponging between continents.

Build async into your work. The more you can do independently, the less timezone hell matters.

Develop skills that don't require constant meetings. Writing, design, coding — these work well async. Sales calls and workshops? Those need sync time.

Know your burnout signs. When you start resenting clients for wanting to meet during their business hours, it's time to reassess.

Bottom Line

Digital nomad working hours are a constant negotiation between client needs, your body clock, and the freedom you're chasing.

There's no one-size-fits-all answer. Experiment. Adjust. Listen to your body.

The nomads who last are the ones who find sustainable rhythms, not the ones grinding 18-hour days across timezones because "laptop lifestyle freedom."

**Figure out your overlap times with Whenest.** See what hours actually work before you book that flight.