For event and venue staff

No two weeks are the same, because the schedule is whatever is booked

Event work is driven by the diary rather than by a rota. A week with two shows is nothing like a week with none, and the long days cluster around build, show and derig rather than spreading evenly.

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The schedules this actually has to cope with

Freeish is built around these, not around a nine-to-five with the occasional exception.

Build and derig

Very long days either side of an event, often overnight, and physically demanding.

Show days

Starting mid-afternoon and finishing after the venue clears.

Feast and famine

A fortnight with five events and a fortnight with none. Both are hard to plan around for different reasons.

Late confirmation

Bookings confirmed close to the date, so the week is not knowable far ahead.

What it sounds like at home

“My week depends on what is booked and nobody at home can see the diary.”
“A derig runs until four in the morning and I said I would be back by midnight.”
“Quiet weeks look like time off and are actually no income.”
“Shifts get confirmed days before, so nothing can be planned.”
“Everyone assumes event work means evenings only.”

Where Freeish fits

Put shifts in as they are confirmed rather than at the end of the week.

Build and derig go in with realistic finishes, so nobody waits up.

Days you deliberately keep clear are visible as clear, which is what protects them.

Family can see the shape of the month even when it is uneven.

One week, start to finish

Rob, venue crew

Rob adds each event as it is confirmed rather than in a weekly batch.
A derig that will run past three goes in with the real finish.
His partner stops waiting up on show nights.
A clear week is visible as clear, so they book something into it.
Nobody has to ask what is on this month.

Questions event and venue staff ask

My schedule is confirmed days before. Is this still useful?

More so — there is no rota for anyone to look at, so unless you write it down nobody has anything at all.

How do I show an overnight derig?

One event spanning both dates, with a realistic finish. The following morning then reads correctly too.

Can I protect a day off?

Yes, and it is worth doing. A day visible as taken is much harder for other people — and for you — to fill.

Stop being the schedule. Start sharing it.

Now on iPhone — Android coming soon. Free to start. Import a photo of your next schedule and see who stops asking.