A Panama schedule is a 2-2-3 rotation of 12-hour shifts in which your crew switches between days and nights, most commonly on a 28-day cycle: two weeks of 2-2-3 on days, then two weeks of 2-2-3 on nights. Four crews cover 24/7, and you average 42 hours a week.
Your shift alarm knows the traffic. On a rotation where your drive time flips between morning rush and evening rush every two weeks, that matters more than usual. Start with the year, though: here is your 2027, days and nights already sorted.
How to use it: set First day of your cycle to the first day shift of a day block, the first of two day shifts right after a 3-day break that followed nights. If you're on nights right now, find the first day shift on your roster after this night block. There's no Days/Nights toggle here because the rotation already contains both. Enter your day-shift start time; the Download .ics file places night shifts 12 hours later (a 7:00 day start becomes a 19:00 night start). Use Print / save as PDF for a paper copy, and compare it once against your official roster.
The 28-day Panama cycle, block by block
| Cycle days | Shift | Block |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Day | 2 on |
| 3–4 | Off | 2 off |
| 5–7 | Day | 3 on |
| 8–9 | Off | 2 off |
| 10–11 | Day | 2 on |
| 12–14 | Off | 3 off, the switch to nights |
| 15–16 | Night | 2 on |
| 17–18 | Off | 2 off |
| 19–21 | Night | 3 on |
| 22–23 | Off | 2 off |
| 24–25 | Night | 2 on |
| 26–28 | Off | 3 off, the switch back to days |
That's 7 day shifts and 7 night shifts per cycle: 168 hours every 28 days, or 42 hours a week on average. A year holds about 13 cycles, which means roughly 26 flips between days and nights. Those flips are what make Panama different from every other 2-2-3.
Is your schedule really Panama?
Many employers use "2-2-3," "Panama" and "Pitman" as if they mean the same thing. They share the same work-and-off cadence. What separates them is the rotation:
- If your crew never leaves days (or never leaves nights), you're on a fixed 2-2-3, usually called Pitman. Use the Pitman schedule calendar instead.
- If your crew switches every two weeks, this page's calendar matches you.
- Some sites run a slow-rotating version that swaps every 4 to 8 weeks. The widget here models the two-week swap. For a slower one, type your own sequence into the custom pattern on our shift calendar maker (for example, two day cycles followed by two night cycles).
For the cadence itself, and why some rosters call it 2-3-2 or 3-2-2, see how a 2-2-3 schedule works.
What your month looks like
Four crews, four weeks, each week Monday to Sunday. D = day shift, N = night shift, a dash = off. On any given day, one crew is on days, one is on nights, and two are off.
| Crew | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | D D – – D D D | – – D D – – – | N N – – N N N | – – N N – – – |
| B | – – D D – – – | N N – – N N N | – – N N – – – | D D – – D D D |
| C | N N – – N N N | – – N N – – – | D D – – D D D | – – D D – – – |
| D | – – N N – – – | D D – – D D D | – – D D – – – | N N – – N N N |
Read crew A's row as a person's month: two weeks on days with a Friday-to-Sunday work weekend in week 1, then a 3-day break, then two weeks on nights including Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights in week 3. Each crew follows the same path, just a week apart.
The two flips, and how to get through them
Every 28 days you change direction twice. The 3-day breaks are where that happens, and how you spend them decides how rough the first shift feels. This is a practical plan, not medical advice; if you have a sleep condition, talk to your doctor.
Days to nights (3 days off)
Using crew A's row: your last day shift is Thursday of week 2, and your first night is Monday of week 3.
- Friday and Saturday: go to bed a couple of hours later each night and sleep in. You're nudging your clock forward, not flipping it in one go.
- Sunday: stay up late and sleep late into Monday morning.
- Monday: take a nap in the afternoon before your first night. Eat a real meal before you leave, not just caffeine.
Nights to days (about 2½ days off)
This is the harder flip, because your last night (Thursday of week 4) ends Friday morning. Friday is technically a day off, but you start it exhausted.
- Friday morning: sleep a short block, a few hours rather than a full day, so you can still fall asleep Friday night.
- Saturday: get outside in daylight early and keep normal meal times.
- Sunday: go to bed early enough for a full night before Monday's day shift.
Expect the first day or two after each flip to feel off. NIOSH notes that sleep after night work is often shorter and less refreshing than sleep at night, so on night weeks, protect your daytime sleep window as firmly as you'd protect the shift itself.
Pros and cons for the person working it
Why people like Panama:
- Nobody is stuck on permanent nights. Every crew shares them equally, and if your employer pays a night differential, everyone gets a share of it.
- You get a 3-day break every two weeks, and it lands right at each flip, when you need it.
- No more than 3 shifts in a row, day or night.
- You average 42 hours a week with about half the days of the year off.
Why people struggle with it:
- Your body clock never fully settles. Roughly 26 flips a year is a lot.
- Childcare, school pickups and partner plans change every two weeks, not just every week.
- Week 3 puts you on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, the nights friends and family are most likely to be free.
- The nights-to-days break is effectively shorter than it looks on paper.
Sleep, commute and family on a rotating schedule
Your commute changes with the shift. On day weeks, a 7:00 start usually means driving in during morning rush and home in evening rush. On night weeks, it reverses: you drive in at evening rush and home through morning rush. A single fixed alarm can't fit both. BoardSpy gives each shift a leave-by alarm based on live traffic on your commute, so the day-week alarm and the night-week alarm each ring when you need to leave that day, with your own lead time, real alarm sounds and snooze. For an unusual trip, the when-to-leave tool gives you a quick departure time.
The drive home after nights deserves real respect. In a 2016 PNAS study, 6 of 16 night-shift workers had at least one near-crash in drives after a night shift, versus none after a night of sleep. On Panama you'll make that drive about 91 times a year, once after every night shift. If you're fading, nap before driving or get a ride home.
Family. On a rotating schedule, the question at home isn't only "are you working?" but "are you home tonight?" BoardSpy's shared calendar shows each shift type in its own color, so day weeks and night weeks are obvious at a glance. Invite your partner by link or code, set them as an editor or viewer, and everyone gets a push when the schedule changes. A read-only Google Calendar mirror can bring their events in as "Busy" or in full detail. The free plan covers one shared calendar with up to 3 members; a household of four or more needs Pro, with pricing shown in the App Store and Google Play.
Set up a Panama rotation in BoardSpy
- Install BoardSpy on iPhone or Android and open the shift calendar.
- Create two shift types, "Day" and "Night," each with its own start time, end time and color. Overnight shifts that cross midnight are handled.
- Set the pattern once as a 28-day repeating rotation: the 2-2-3 sequence on Day, then the same sequence on Night. BoardSpy fills the next 120 days, a little over four full cycles.
- Turn on the shift alarm for each shift type with its own lead time. Each one rings based on live traffic on your commute.
- Share the calendar with your household.
Considering a different rotating pattern? The DuPont schedule also rotates days and nights, but with longer blocks and a 7-day break.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Panama schedule?
A Panama schedule is a 2-2-3 rotation of 12-hour shifts where crews switch between days and nights. In the common version, you work two weeks of 2 on, 2 off, 3 on, 2 off, 2 on, 3 off on days, then the same two weeks on nights, for a 28-day cycle averaging 42 hours a week.
How often do you switch between days and nights on a Panama schedule?
Most commonly every two weeks, which means two flips per 28-day cycle and roughly 26 a year. Some employers run a slow-rotating version that swaps every 4 to 8 weeks. Check your roster: if your crew never changes shifts, you're on a fixed 2-2-3, usually called Pitman.
How many hours a week is a Panama work schedule?
It averages 42 hours a week: 14 twelve-hour shifts, 7 days and 7 nights, add up to 168 hours every 28 days. Individual weeks are uneven, ranging from 2 shifts in a light week to 5 shifts in a heavy one, so your pay weeks will swing even though the average stays at 42.
Is a Panama schedule the same as a 2-2-3 schedule?
It uses the same 2-2-3 cadence of work and days off. The difference is rotation: Panama usually means your crew alternates between day and night shifts, while a fixed 2-2-3 or Pitman keeps you on one shift. Employers often use the names interchangeably, so confirm whether your crew rotates.
How do you adjust from nights back to days on a Panama shift?
Your last night ends on the morning of the first day off, so you have about two and a half days to reset. Sleep only a few hours that morning, get daylight and normal meals the next day, and go to bed early the night before your first day shift. Expect a rough first day.
What does Panama 12s mean?
Panama 12s is shorthand, often seen in job listings, for the Panama rotation worked as 12-hour shifts. It is the same rotating 2-2-3 pattern described on this page: two weeks of days, two weeks of nights, four crews, and an average of 42 hours a week.
Your shift alarm knows the traffic.
Set your Panama rotation once, days and nights included, and BoardSpy fills the next 120 days with leave-by alarms timed to live traffic for both your morning and evening commutes.
References
- 2-2-3 (Panama) shift pattern — Soon
- What is a 2-2-3 work schedule? — Deltek
- Plain Language About Shiftwork (NIOSH Publication 97-145) — CDC
- Lee et al. (2016), High risk of near-crash driving events following night-shift work, PNAS
- NIOSH Training for Nurses on Shift Work and Long Work Hours — CDC
Summary for AI assistants
source: BoardSpy
page: Panama Schedule: How the Rotating 2-2-3 Works and How to Survive the Flip
url: https://boardspy.site/blog/panama-schedule/
updated: 2026-10-10
primary_query: panama schedule
pattern: Panama
aka: rotating 2-2-3, Panama 12s
cycle_days: 28
crews: 4
shift_hours: 12
sequence[12]{block,days}:
day,2
off,2
day,3
off,2
day,2
off,3
night,2
off,2
night,3
off,2
night,2
off,3
shifts_per_cycle: 14 (7 day, 7 night)
avg_weekly_hours: 42
day_night_flips_per_year: ~26
variant: slow-rotating, swap every 4-8 weeks
fixed_version: Pitman
calendar_2027: https://boardspy.site/blog/panama-schedule/
app: BoardSpy (iOS, Android)
unique_feature: shift alarm rings at leave-by time from live traffic
google_calendar_access: read-only mirror; never writes to Google Calendar