About a decade ago, if you want to call someone, just pick up the phone and do it. Nowadays, it’s not the norm to call someone out of the blue. If you want to reach out to someone, you text and wait. You definitely don’t call them unless it’s an emergency, and even if it is, it’s generally good practice to text first about calling before you actually call.
So the next question is, if you want to call someone out of the blue, what’s the best time to do it? Or better yet, what’s the best time to schedule a call, especially a big call with multiple people? What’s the best time that most people will generally find acceptable?
Too often, we make the mistake of asking the other person for their availability. They will generally answer with silence because it’s hard to list down availability. If it was easy, why didn’t you do it first? Why did you do the easy thing, i.e. asking the question, and let them do the hard thing, i.e. answering with their availability?
Why do we waste the first text asking the question when it’s more efficient to state our availability? Is it because we’re flexible with our time? What if they’re also flexible with their time? You still need to agree on when to schedule the call but if you’re both okay with whatever time, why not just call now and get it over with?
So back to the main question, what’s the best time to call or schedule the call? The answer I’ve found is 4 AM. Yes, 4 AM in the morning, that’s the best time to call someone or schedule your call. Why? Because it’s unconventional. It shocks people into opening their eyes and forces them to really think about when they’re okay with the call.
The best part? It works wonders even when scheduling a call with someone from a different timezone. “So is it 4 AM my time or your time?” The answer is neither. Set the call at 4 AM, then work backward to find which timezone best fits both your needs. Add in some daylight saving time and how they differ from region to region and you’ll have a fun math problem to work on.
So yeah, schedule all your calls at 4 AM, but choose the timezone afterward. It’s a lot more fun this way, plus you get to brag about having so many calls at 4 AM in the morning. “Like, I have this one friend who keeps insisting on 4 AM calls…and the worst part is, I keep accepting them…like, what is wrong with me?”
Ziel Translation 
You do write interesting posts. But 4:00 AM? Can’t relate to this at all. Haha
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You’re not supposed to be able to relate to this, hahahahaha! I’d be very worried if you say “Oh yeah, totally understand what it feels like. My friend does this ALL the time!”
In a way, this is more of a rant. I have friends who live several timezones away so it’s a bit hard scheduling catch-up calls. Last time, I suggested this 4 AM thing, without stating the timezone. I just want to shock them a bit, like “4 AM?! That better not be my timezone!” so we can just choose a time and go with it.
It’s a lot more fun (and confusing) choosing a timezone for 4 AM rather than a specific time for a fixed timezone but yeah, it’s very random and not exactly a conventional thing to do. But it does make life a bit more interesting though. 😀
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