Here are some best practices for working with dates and times in Java:

1. Use the java.time package instead of the old java.util.Date and java.util.Calendar classes. The java.time package is more intuitive and provides more features.

2. Use the LocalDate, LocalTime, and LocalDateTime classes to represent dates, times, and date-times without a time zone. These classes are immutable and thread-safe.

3. Use the ZonedDateTime class to represent a date-time with a time zone. This class is also immutable and thread-safe.

4. Use the Duration class to represent a duration (e.g., “2 hours and 30 minutes”). Use the Period class to represent a period (e.g., “2 years and 3 months”).

5. Use the DateTimeFormatter class to format dates and times as strings. Use the ofPattern() method to specify a pattern string.

6. Avoid using the java.util.Date and java.util.Calendar classes if possible. These classes are not thread-safe and have several design flaws.

7. Be careful when working with time zones. Make sure to specify the correct time zone when creating ZonedDateTime objects and when formatting dates and times as strings.

8. Use the Instant class to represent a point in time in the UTC time zone. Use the Instant class when storing dates and times in a database or when sending dates and times over the network.

I hope these best practices are helpful! Let me know if you have any questions.