It took me three years to realize I was working the wrong time zone for my clients

I always assumed I needed to match my client's time zone exactly to be professional. So I shifted my whole schedule to Eastern Time even though I was in Thailand, waking up at 2 AM for calls. After about a year of this I was burned out and grumpy all the time. One day a client in New York mentioned he actually prefers getting async updates because it gives him time to think before responding. That little comment made me realize I was killing myself over nothing. Now I work my natural hours in Asia and send detailed emails instead, and honestly my work quality has gone up. Has anyone else found a better balance by ignoring the clock?

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anderson.spencer6d ago

Wait, did you ever find yourself getting anxious just from the silence after sending an email? I had this weird thing where I'd send a detailed async message and then stare at my inbox for hours waiting for a reply, totally defeating the purpose. I actually started setting a timer on my phone to force myself to walk away and do something else after hitting send. It's funny how we train ourselves to think immediate responses equal professionalism when really it's just about getting the work done well.