ShiftPlum2-2-3 shift schedule: a 14-day calendar and hours
A 2-2-3 shift schedule follows a two-week sequence: work two days, take two off, work three, take two off, work two, then take three off. To put it in a calendar, you need the whole 14-day pattern and a confirmed starting date.
The full pattern, day by day
The name is a useful shorthand, but repeating only the first seven days produces the wrong schedule. The second week reverses the working days and days off. This example follows one person's work-and-rest pattern; it does not assign a full team or decide who covers nights.
| Cycle days | Plan |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | Work |
| 3–4 | Off |
| 5–7 | Work |
| 8–9 | Off |
| 10–11 | Work |
| 12–14 | Off |
Anchor the cycle to a shift you can verify
Choose a date your employer's schedule identifies as day one. If day one is a Monday, the first week has shifts on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday; the second has shifts on Wednesday and Thursday. Day 15 starts the pattern again on a Monday.
If you join halfway through a cycle, count back to the anchor instead of treating your next shift as day one. Compare at least two known working days and two known days off. A pattern can look convincing while being one day out.
Calculate hours from shifts, then subtract breaks
There are seven shifts in this 14-day example. Seven 12-hour shifts span 84 hours. If each has a 30-minute unpaid break, subtract 3 hours 30 minutes: the total is 80 hours 30 minutes, or 80.5 decimal hours.
That averages 40.25 hours per week over these two weeks. It does not mean each week contains that many hours: the five-shift week has 57.5 hours after breaks, and the two-shift week has 23. Use actual dates for a monthly total; do not multiply the average by four.
Keep day and night assignments separate
The work-and-rest sequence does not tell you when day shifts change to nights. Some rosters keep the same shift time; others change it over a longer cycle. Follow the actual assignment rather than assuming that every second week is nights.
Create separate templates for day and night shifts. For an overnight shift, set its end to the next day. If the same combination of shift times and days off returns only after 28 days, enter all 28 days in the pattern.
Build and preview the rotation in ShiftPlum
Open Templates, create the shift templates you need, then assemble the sequence in order. Leave days off empty, or use a Day off template if you want a visible label. Choose the calendar, anchor date and end date before previewing.
Preview two weeks plus the following day. Confirm seven shifts within the first 14 days, their times and the first shift of the next cycle. Existing events can cause dates to be skipped, so inspect those dates before deciding to allow overlaps. Extend the range only when this check matches your work schedule.
What happens after a swap?
Change the individual event once the swap is confirmed. An isolated change does not move the next 14-day cycle. If your employer changes the repeating roster itself, use the new confirmed anchor and review the affected future events before adding another pattern.
The useful final check is simple: can you point to your next shift, your next full weekend off and the last shift in the selected period? If any answer differs from the official schedule, resolve that mismatch before sharing your calendar.