# Time zone changes when traveling **URL:** \ **Category:** Bugabee\ **Created:** [April 26, 2024, 1:42pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/time-zone-changes-when-traveling/11575 "2024-04-26T13:42:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 3
**Author:** ![dreev](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.beeminder.com/dreev/32/4311_2.png) [@dreev](https://forum.beeminder.com/u/dreev)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2024, 7:09pm UTC](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/time-zone-changes-when-traveling/11575/3 "2024-04-26T19:09:25Z")
I have lots of thoughts about the Beeminder day vs calendar day problem but much fewer thoughts about timezones, other than to agree with @philip. Maybe this is like the [Copenhagen interpretation of ethics](https://laneless.substack.com/p/the-copenhagen-interpretation-of-ethics "Fun essay, profound philosophical point"): No matter what we do, timezone-wise, it will sometimes lead to derailments, so it’s safest to do nothing. Suppose we auto-update your timezone to match what your phone or browser says. Pretty non-crazy thing to do! But then if you travel west, we’ve made your goals due earlier in [body time](https://doc.beeminder.com/madhack#36 "Madhack #36: Use the term “body time” to refer to what time it feels like it still is after you change timezones or after a DST change. Also my very unpopular pro-DST screed."). Not (necessarily) fair! Especially if you’re down to the wire when an hour is lopped off the countdown timer. If we _don’t_ auto-update your timezone and you travel _east_ then your goals are all due earlier in clock time. Also not necessarily fair! But besides Beeminder seeming less culpable in the version where we don’t touch the user-chosen timezone, I think I prefer it as a user. I already mentally keep track of my home timezone for other reasons when traveling so it doesn’t feel like too much of an additional burden to keep in mind that my Beeminder goals also keep using that timezone. Of course I may just think that because I only ever travel east. My Beeminder goals are always due at a nominally later time when I travel. Now I’m curious: ## Should Beeminder auto-update your timezone when you travel? _Poll ([view on site](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/time-zone-changes-when-traveling/11575/3))_ PS: Fun thread about DST stuff: > [@dst?](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/dst/7434): > > Hi In today’s beemail Dr Reeves says DST does “induce a critical mass of people to shift their activities earlier in the day so as not to waste so much daylight by sleeping in hours past dawn.” For me this seems to be backwards. Sunrise on Oct 31 was 7:14a, and Nov 1 was 6:15. I generally wake up at 8am - so I slept through 46 minutes of daylight on Oct 31 and 1 hour 45 minutes on Nov 1. (In a similar vein, sunset on Oct 31 was 6:03p but on Nov 1 was 5:02p, so I also think the evening was s… --- _[View the full topic](https://forum.beeminder.com/t/time-zone-changes-when-traveling/11575)._