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INThe 7 On 7 Off Schedule: Rotation, Examples & Template
The 7 on 7 off schedule has teams work seven consecutive shifts followed by seven days off — a fortnight cycle where work and life alternate in whole weeks. On 12-hour shifts it averages 42 hours a week; two day teams and two night teams cover an operation 24/7.
Try the rotation
Pick a start date to map the rotation onto real weeks. Team A starts the cycle on day 1; the other teams are staggered so cover never drops.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team A | Day | Day | Day | Day | Day | Day | Day | Off | Off | Off | Off | Off | Off | Off |
| Team B | Off | Off | Off | Off | Off | Off | Off | Day | Day | Day | Day | Day | Day | Day |
| Team C | Night | Night | Night | Night | Night | Night | Night | Off | Off | Off | Off | Off | Off | Off |
| Team D | Off | Off | Off | Off | Off | Off | Off | Night | Night | Night | Night | Night | Night | Night |
The math
| Cycle length | 14 days |
|---|---|
| Shift length | 12 hours |
| Average hours per week | 42 hours |
| Shifts per year (per person) | 183 |
| Days off per year | 183 |
| Teams needed for 24/7 cover | 4 |
How the rotation works
7 on 7 off concentrates a fortnight's work into one intense week and pays it back with an entire week off — 26 free weeks a year. It is the rhythm behind hospitalist medicine, remote camps and plant operations where travelling to work is itself a cost worth amortising.
The on-week is heavy. Seven consecutive 12-hour shifts (84 hours) leaves room for work, sleep and almost nothing else; the third or fourth day is where fatigue management — meals, naps, lighter duties late in runs — earns its keep. The off-week is the compensation, and for many people it's decisive: every second week belongs entirely to them.
Two teams alternate weeks on the day shift, two on nights. Handover happens once a week per shift line, which makes continuity excellent inside the week and demands a disciplined, written handover at the boundary.
Who uses it
- Hospitalists & locum physicians — the standard rhythm of US hospital medicine
- Remote mining & energy camps — week-long rotations match fly-in/fly-out logistics
- Offshore support (lighter rotations) — a shorter cousin of the 14/14 swing
- Plant & facilities engineers — single-specialist cover alternating with a counterpart
- Travel nursing & contract care — block scheduling that packs work around home life elsewhere
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Twenty-six full weeks off per year — unmatched block recovery time
- One handover per week per line: superb continuity of care/operations
- Commute or travel once per fortnight in camp/fly-in contexts
- Perfectly even split between two alternating teams per shift line
- Easy long-range planning: your year is known to the day
Cons
- 84-hour on-weeks are extreme; fatigue risk concentrates at days 4-7
- The off-week often starts as recovery, not holiday
- Sustained 12-hour nights for a full week is the hardest version of night work
- Sickness in an on-week is very hard to cover
- Personal commitments during on-weeks are effectively impossible
Variations & alternatives
Free template download
Download the pre-built rotation calendar, ready to print or edit. No email required.
Build this schedule in Tommy
Set the rotation once and Tommy fills the weeks ahead — shift swaps, leave and coverage gaps handled in one place, with your team always seeing the latest version.
