Free shift calendar
12x36 shift calendar 2026
The 12x36 schedule is the shortest cycle in shift work: one 12 hour shift, 36 hours of rest, repeat. That is 48 hours end to end, exactly two days, so you work every other day, half the days of the year. In Brazil it is the best known schedule there is (escala 12x36, from hospital wards to building security), and the same rhythm staffs care homes and security posts elsewhere.
This page lays out the whole of 2026 for a rotation whose first shift lands on January 1: every shift, every rest day, and what happens to the weekends. There is a days grid, stats for the days and nights variants, and a calendar file you can import in one tap.
12x36, days, 2026
The grid shows a crew whose cycle starts January 1, 2026; other crews run the same rotation offset by a few days. The 2 day cycle does not divide evenly into weeks, so the rotation drifts through the weekdays. Other crews get a similar year, just shifted. To line the pattern up with your real start date, use the interactive shift pattern visualizer.
The 2026 numbers
Days
Full weekends off
0
Jan 1 crew; all crews: 0
Night shifts
0
183 day shifts
Recovery days
0
no night shifts to sleep off
Longest stretch
1
consecutive shifts
Nights
Full weekends off
0
Jan 1 crew; all crews: 0
Night shifts
183
0 day shifts
Recovery days
182
first day off after nights
Longest stretch
1
consecutive shifts
How many hours is 12x36 in 2026?
Worked in full, 12x36 in 2026 comes to 183 shifts of 12 hours: 2,196 hours, an average of 42.1 hours a week across the whole year. The nights variant works the same dates and the same 2,196 hours; the difference is that every one of them runs overnight. These figures assume every scheduled shift is worked: no overtime, no swaps, no sick days, no leave.
Put 12x36 2026 in your calendar
One file, every shift of the year, ready for Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, or Outlook. Shifts import with default times: day shifts 7am to 7pm, night shifts 7pm into the next morning (7am). Edit the times after import if your site runs different hours.
A perfect rotation fits in a calendar file. A real roster does not.
Swaps, overtime, and holiday cover break the pattern. Reading a real roster is what the Lumical app does: photograph it and every shift lands in your calendar, overnights included. We make it, so weigh the recommendation accordingly.
Common questions
How does the 12x36 schedule work?
You work one 12 hour shift, then rest for 36 hours, which puts the next shift two days after the last one started. Day on, day off, all year. Any calendar week holds three or four of your shifts, and the two week shapes alternate: a four shift week, then a three shift week, realigning every 14 days.
How many hours a year is 12x36?
2,196 hours in 2026: 183 shifts of 12 hours, averaging 42.1 hours a week. That is the same annual load as 4 on 4 off or 7 on 7 off. Only the shape of the rest differs.
Does 12x36 ever give a full weekend off?
No. A full weekend needs Saturday and Sunday both free, and 12x36 never rests two days in a row, so one of the two always holds a shift. In 2026 the count is 0 for every position of the rotation. The flip side: you also never work both weekend days, so every week keeps one of them.
What does 12x36 on nights do to your rest days?
Every rest day follows a night shift, so every rest day starts with you getting home in the morning and sleeping through most of it. The nights variant has 182 recovery days in 2026, which is essentially all of its days off. On paper the two variants rest the same amount. Lived, nights on 12x36 is the harshest trade on this site.
Does 12x36 drift through the week?
Each shift lands two weekdays after the last, and the pattern realigns with the calendar every 14 days. In practice you alternate between two fixed week templates forever: if you work this Monday, you work every second Monday from now on.