Honestly? I just needed something simple to wrangle my chaotic schedule across time zones. Heard about this Universal Time clock thing for Trello, dove in headfirst. Here’s exactly what went down.
First, Total Confusion (Let’s Be Real)
Opened Trello. Stared blankly. Where the heck was this “Universal Time” thing? Clicked around like a lost puppy. Profile settings? Nope. Board settings? Zilch. Finally stumbled into the menu under my profile picture – “Settings”, then “Trello Labs”. Found it! A tiny toggle called “Universal Time”. Flipped it on. Boom. Suddenly, next to every single due date on every card, in every board, this little UTC time appeared. Magic. Or just… logic. LOL.
Thought I was done. Not quite.
Setting Up My Actual Clock System
Now for the real work. Made a brand new board. Called it “My Time Zones”. Simple enough.
Created these lists:
- Today in UTC (Ground Zero)
- Personal Time (PT) (My home timezone)
- Work HQ Time (CT) (Boss’s timezone)
- Team Member A Time (BST)
Needed the actual clock display. Searched Trello power-ups. Found “Calendar”. Added it to the board. Super basic calendar view popped up. Useful? Maybe later.
The core trick? Trello cards! Made individual cards:
- “Current UTC Time”
- “Current PT”
- “Current CT”
- “Current BST”
For each card, I put the current time for that zone RIGHT IN THE CARD TITLE. Like: “BST – 14:30”. Why? Because Trello shows the card title everywhere. On the board itself? Yep. On the sidebar calendar view? Definitely. Even on my Trello “Home” screen. Instant clock, staring me in the face constantly.
Left the card descriptions mostly blank except maybe a note like “London time” for BST. Keep it lean.
The Moment of Truth (And Potential Disaster)
Critical meeting time. Needed to schedule a call with HQ (CT), Team Member A (BST), and me (PT). World clock websites? Nah.
- Opened my “My Time Zones” board.
- Glanced at the “Current UTC” card – 21:00.
- Looked at “Current CT” – 16:00. HQ happy time.
- “Current BST” – 22:00. Might be late for them?
- My “Current PT” – 14:00. Fine.
Proposed 21:00 UTC in the meeting invite. Copied the UTC time straight from the card title. Boss at HQ confirmed 16:00 their time worked. Team Member A said 22:00 was okay. Done. Zero confusion. Zero timezone math scramble. The boss even commented “Nice time coordination”. Small win!
Simple Wins & Why It Clicks
Keeping It Fresh: This ONLY works if you update those card titles regularly. I set an annoying phone alarm every couple of hours. Sucks? A bit. But quicker than forgetting a meeting. Updated during coffee breaks.
Why It Actually Works:
- No new apps. Just Trello, which I live in anyway.
- Glanceable. Times are right there in big card titles.
- Universal Time toggle = sanity. Every due date has UTC context. No more guesswork.
- Super cheap. Used basic free features. Calendar power-up is optional icing.
Honestly? It’s janky. It’s manual. Updating times feels stupid sometimes. BUT. For seeing multiple zones instantly where I’m already working? It’s killer. Way better than flipping browser tabs constantly. Dumb method, clever outcome. Now I can finally see what time it is for everyone, before hitting “send”. Priceless.