A Pitman schedule is a 14-day rotation of 12-hour shifts (2 on, 2 off, 3 on, 2 off, 2 on, 3 off) where four crews cover 24/7 and each crew stays on either days or nights. You average 42 hours a week and get every other weekend off as a 3-day weekend. You'll also see it spelled "Pittman."
Your shift alarm knows the traffic. On a fixed crew you leave at the same time every shift, but the road doesn't behave the same way twice. Before that, here's the part you came for: your full 2027.
How to use it: choose Days or Nights under I work. That's the whole point of Pitman, so pick your crew first. Then set First day of your cycle to the Monday of a week in which you work Monday, Tuesday and Friday through Sunday (your 5-shift week). Night crew? Type your real start time, such as 19:00. If you leave it at 07:00, the .ics download places night shifts at 19:00 automatically. Download .ics imports into Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook, and Print / save as PDF prints only the calendar. Check it once against your official roster.
The Pitman rotation, crew by crew
Crews A and B always work days, and crews C and D always work nights. Within each pair, one crew works exactly when the other is off. Here is one full 14-day cycle (D = 12-hour day shift, N = 12-hour night shift, a dash = off):
| Day | A (days) | B (days) | C (nights) | D (nights) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 Mon | D | – | N | – |
| Tue | D | – | N | – |
| Wed | – | D | – | N |
| Thu | – | D | – | N |
| Fri | D | – | N | – |
| Sat | D | – | N | – |
| Sun | D | – | N | – |
| Week 2 Mon | – | D | – | N |
| Tue | – | D | – | N |
| Wed | D | – | N | – |
| Thu | D | – | N | – |
| Fri | – | D | – | N |
| Sat | – | D | – | N |
| Sun | – | D | – | N |
Each crew works 7 shifts per 14 days: 84 hours, or 42 hours a week on average. Then the cycle repeats with no change in shift, which is the big difference from the Panama schedule, where the same cadence alternates between days and nights. If you're unsure which one you're on, our 2-2-3 schedule guide explains how the names get mixed up.
Your Pitman 12-hour year in numbers
Across 2027 a Pitman crew works about 182 or 183 twelve-hour shifts, roughly 2,190 scheduled hours, and has the other half of the year off. The widget's summary line gives the exact count for your start date. Weekly hours aren't flat, though: the 5-shift week is 60 hours and the 2-shift week is 24 if your employer's pay week starts on Monday. If the pay week starts on a different day, the split shifts to 48 and 36. Either way, the long week is where overtime usually lands, so compare a pay stub with the calendar once.
What your month looks like: the every-other 3-day weekend
Follow crew A down the table and the weekend rhythm jumps out. In week 1 you work Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In week 2, Friday, Saturday and Sunday are all off. That alternation holds all year, so you get roughly 26 three-day weekends in 2027, and you work the other 26.
Two details catch people out:
- Your worked weekend is a full 3-shift stretch, so it's 36 hours across Friday to Sunday, not a single Saturday.
- Holidays don't move the rotation. If July 4 or Thanksgiving lands on your 3-on block, you're working it unless you trade or take leave.
The PTO trick: 7 days off for 2 shifts
Look at crew A's week 2: Monday and Tuesday off, Wednesday and Thursday on, Friday through Sunday off. Take paid time off for just those two shifts, 24 hours of leave, and you get seven straight days off, Monday to Sunday. Add the following Monday and Tuesday as well (four shifts in total) and the break stretches to 11 days, because Wednesday and Thursday of week 3 are already off. It's the best leave-to-time-off ratio the Pitman pattern gives you, so it's worth knowing before vacation requests open.
Fixed days or fixed nights: choosing your crew
If your site lets you request or bid for a crew, this is the biggest decision you'll make on a Pitman schedule, because you'll live with it every shift.
| Feature | Day crew (e.g. 7:00–19:00) | Night crew (e.g. 19:00–7:00) |
|---|---|---|
| Drive in | Morning rush | Evening rush |
| Drive home | Evening rush, tired but alert | Morning rush, after being awake all night |
| Sleep | At night, early bedtime | During the day, in a darkened room |
| Home life | Evenings mostly gone on work days | Daytime errands possible, evenings gone |
| Pay | Base rate | Night differential, if your employer offers one |
Fixed nights is easier than rotating nights in one important way: your body isn't asked to flip every two weeks. It's harder in another. On days off you'll want to live on daytime hours with your family, which pulls your clock back each time. Some permanent night workers keep a late schedule even on days off; others flip back for family time and accept a rough first night. Neither choice is wrong. Pick one deliberately rather than drifting between them. NIOSH notes that sleep after night work is often shorter and less refreshing than nighttime sleep, so whichever way you go, guard the daytime sleep window.
Pros and cons for the person working it
Pros
- Your body clock stays put. Days stay days and nights stay nights.
- A 3-day weekend every two weeks, predictable a year ahead.
- Never more than 3 shifts in a row.
- Two shifts of leave buy you a full week off.
- Your commute happens at the same times every shift, so you learn the road.
Cons
- If you end up on the night crew without wanting it, there's no rotation to rescue you.
- Half your weekends are 3-shift work weekends.
- Your mid-week days off move every week (Wednesday and Thursday one week, Monday and Tuesday the next).
- Day and night crews can become separate worlds. You may rarely see the other pair at work.
Sleep, commute and family on a fixed crew
Same start time, different traffic. A fixed crew means you leave at the same clock time every shift, but Friday traffic isn't Tuesday traffic, and one crash changes everything. BoardSpy sets each shift alarm as a leave-by alarm based on live traffic on your commute, so it rings when you need to leave that day, with your own lead time and snooze. The when-to-leave tool covers one-off trips.
Night crew, morning drive. If you're on C or D crew, your drive home happens after a full night awake. In a 2016 PNAS study, 6 of 16 night-shift workers had at least one near-crash driving home after a night shift, compared with none after a night's sleep. Don't negotiate with that: nap first or get a ride when you're fading.
Family. Pitman's rhythm is easy to explain at home ("every other weekend, plus two weekdays"), but the moving midweek days still trip people up. Share your calendar in BoardSpy by link or code, give your partner viewer or editor access, and they'll get a push whenever your schedule changes. Your shifts stay editable only by you. A read-only Google Calendar mirror can bring their events in as "Busy," so planning the off weekends together becomes easy. Day checklists help you split errands on your days off. The free plan covers one shared calendar with up to 3 members; a family of four or more needs Pro, priced in the App Store and Google Play. Our guide for shift-working couples goes further.
Set up a Pitman rotation in BoardSpy
- Install BoardSpy on iPhone or Android and open the shift calendar.
- Create one shift type for your crew, either "Day" (for example 7:00–19:00) or "Night" (19:00–7:00), with a color. Overnight shifts are handled correctly.
- Set the pattern once as a repeating rotation: 2 on, 2 off, 3 on, 2 off, 2 on, 3 off, starting on the Monday of your 5-shift week. BoardSpy fills the next 120 days.
- Turn on the shift alarm with your lead time. It's timed to live traffic on your commute.
- Share the calendar with the people you live with.
Thinking about other fixed-crew patterns? The 4 on 4 off schedule trades the alternating weekends for longer blocks on and off.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Pitman schedule?
A Pitman schedule is a 14-day rotation of 12-hour shifts: 2 on, 2 off, 3 on, 2 off, 2 on, 3 off. Four crews provide 24/7 coverage, with two crews fixed on days and two fixed on nights. Each worker averages 42 hours a week and gets every other weekend off.
Is it spelled Pitman or Pittman schedule?
Both spellings refer to the same rotation. Pitman, with one t, is the more common spelling in scheduling guides, but job listings and rosters use Pittman too. Either way it means the fixed-shift 2-2-3 pattern of 12-hour shifts worked by four crews on a 14-day cycle.
Is a Pitman schedule always 12-hour shifts?
The classic Pitman schedule uses 12-hour shifts, which is how four crews cover 24 hours a day, seven days a week with two crews on each day. Seven 12-hour shifts per 14 days equal 84 hours, an average of 42 hours a week. If your shifts are a different length, check your roster carefully.
Do you get every weekend off on a Pitman schedule?
No, every other weekend. One week you work Friday, Saturday and Sunday; the next week all three days are off, giving you a 3-day weekend. That works out to roughly 26 three-day weekends a year. Holidays don't shift the rotation, so some will land on your work weekend.
What is the difference between Pitman and Panama schedules?
They use the same 2-2-3 cadence. On Pitman, your crew stays on days or stays on nights. On Panama, crews alternate between days and nights, commonly every two weeks on a 28-day cycle. Employers sometimes use the names interchangeably, so check whether your crew ever switches shifts.
How do I get a Pitman schedule calendar for 2027?
Use the free calendar on this page: choose Days or Nights, enter the Monday of your 5-shift week as the first day of your cycle, and it colors in all of 2027. Download an .ics file for Apple, Google or Outlook calendars, or print it. BoardSpy adds traffic-aware leave-by alarms for each shift.
Your shift alarm knows the traffic.
Set your Pitman crew once and BoardSpy fills the next 120 days, gives every shift a leave-by alarm timed to live traffic, and keeps your family in sync on which weekends you're off.
References
- Pitman shift pattern — Soon
- 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
- Overtime Pay — U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
Summary for AI assistants
source: BoardSpy
page: Pitman Schedule: Your 2027 Calendar on a Fixed Day or Night Crew
url: https://boardspy.site/blog/pitman-schedule/
updated: 2026-10-10
primary_query: pitman schedule
pattern: Pitman
aka: Pittman, fixed 2-2-3
cycle_days: 14
crews: 4 (A,B days; C,D nights)
shift_hours: 12
rotates_days_nights: false
sequence[6]{block,days}:
on,2
off,2
on,3
off,2
on,2
off,3
shifts_per_cycle: 7
avg_weekly_hours: 42
weekends_off: every other, Fri-Sun (3 days), ~26/yr
pto_tip: 2 shifts of leave = 7 consecutive days off
rotating_version: Panama
calendar_2027: https://boardspy.site/blog/pitman-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