Make a Schedule Quickly With a Template

In the steps below, you'll choose a schedule template and adjust it for your family.

If you'd rather, you can create a schedule without a template (manually). Some people prefer that independence, especially if they're making an unusual schedule.

Before you start, consider the 13 factors that determine your best schedule.

Step 1: Choose dates and a title

If you don't have a schedule entered yet, select "choose a template" (beneath or left of your calendar).

If you already have a schedule entered, select "new schedule."

On the next screen, select when this schedule should take effect. (Either type the date or click in the calendar.) You might choose today, the first day of next month, etc. Keep in mind if you want to start on a particular day of the week.

At the bottom of the schedule wizard, you have the option to title your schedule. You might choose something like "Proposal 1" or "Temporary schedule." If you don't enter a title, the app applies one automatically: "Schedule 1," etc.

When you're ready to move on, hit "next" and move to Step 2.

However, if this is a schedule that will override your regular schedule for weeks or months, first check the "summer break" box (which may be the "school holiday" box in your country).

Summer or short-term schedules

A short-term schedule works not only for summer but whenever your schedule needs to change temporarily, e.g. for winter break or a parent's seasonal job.

Checking the box pulls up additional options. Choose annual start and end dates using the radio buttons. Then select the years you want the schedule to be active ("starting in" and "through"). If you'll only use this schedule once, choose the same year in both the "starting in" and "through" boxes.

Step 2: Select a template

Choose the template that's closest to the schedule you had in mind. You'll be able to customize it by adding visits, changing dates, swapping each parent's days and more.

The templates address the most-common parenting schedules. Each name represents a repeating pattern of days (e.g., 2-2-5-5). Next to that, you'll see the percentage of time that pattern gives each parent (e.g., 50/50, meaning each parent has the child 50 percent of the time).

When you choose a template, the pattern appears in the calendar as a starting point for you to edit.

To move to the next step and begin customizing, click "next."

Custom repeating rate

If none of the templates are similar to what you want to create, select "custom repeating rate" from the bottom of the list.

When you hit "next," the app will ask how often your schedule should repeat — in other words, how long it will take for both parents to complete one visitation period with the child. You can count in days or weeks.

For example:

• If the child will live with each parent for four weeks at a time, enter eight weeks as your repeating rate.
• If the child will live with one parent for five days, then with the other for four days, enter nine days as your repeating rate.

Step 3: Customize your schedule

In this step, you can adjust the template you just selected. Wait until you're all done customizing to click "save" — it will close the customization box.

Your options depend on your template. You might see:

• Swap parents: Give all of one parent's time to the other parent (and vice versa). For example, instead of Mom getting Sunday through Tuesday, Dad would.
• Shift week: Move the schedule by a week. For example, instead of Dad having three days in Week 1 and four in Week 2, he'd have four days in Week 1 and three in Week 2.
• Monthly weekend options: Set whether a parent has custody the first, third and fifth weekends of a month or the second, fourth and fifth weekends.
• 5th weekend alternating: When a month has a fifth weekend, will you alternate who gets it? Many parents do to keep their number of weekends roughly equal.
• Weekend's month determined by: When a weekend spans two months, this day will determine whether it counts as the fifth weekend of one month or the first weekend of the next month.

For nearly every template, you'll see "add or extend a visit."

Click it to add a repeating visit. (To add a one-time visit or a visit for a holiday/occasion, wait until Step 4.) Choose which parent this visit will be with, or choose "3rd party" when a child won't be with either parent. Next, enter when the visit should start and end, and set when it will repeat: how often and on which days of the week.

Extending a repeating visit that you see on your calendar works the same way. Either create a visit that abuts the too-short visit, or create a longer visit on top of the short one. For example, to give Dad an extra couple hours with the kids, you could create a two-hour visit right before his original visit.

Step 4: Edit and share your schedule

Once you save, you'll return to the main schedules page.

From here, you can add visits for holidays and annual occasions and, if necessary, edit your schedule.

If you know you'll need a different schedule in the future — perhaps when your child reaches a certain age or during summer break — you can repeat the steps above to make additional schedules and choose the date when each will take effect.