Different times on weekdays versus weekends for the same activity

Why one time for every day rarely works

Most weeks have two shapes. Workdays are set by a commute, school run or shift start; weekends start later and run looser. A single time for all seven days forces one of them to bend:

• set it for workdays, and the weekend reminder goes off while you are still asleep
• set it for the weekend, and on workdays it comes when you are already out of the door
• leave the time off altogether, and you lose the reminder that got you going

The fix in any planner is the same: plan the habit where it really happens on each kind of day. A morning run at 7:00 on workdays and 9:00 at the weekend is still one habit. So is a supplement with breakfast, whenever breakfast is.

Pick the two times from what you already do

Before you set anything, look at a normal week:

1. Find the anchor. What do you do right before the activity on a workday? Breakfast, the alarm, getting home? Then find the same anchor on a weekend.
2. Note the real clock time of each anchor. If weekend breakfast drifts between 8:30 and 10:00, plan the earlier end, or leave that time as "any time".
3. Check the odd days. If Friday is a home-office day that feels like a weekend, put it with the weekend group. The split does not have to be five and two.
4. Decide whether both need a reminder. Often the workday time needs one and the weekend one does not.

Set it up in EasyRoutine (Premium)

Scheduling is part of Premium; logging and the calendar are free. One activity can hold up to four weekly times, each with its own weekdays, clock time and reminder.

1. Open the Plan tab and tap the activity, for example Morning run.
2. Under Recurring, set the first time to 7:00 and tick Monday to Friday. Add a reminder if you want one.
3. Tap Add another time, set it to 9:00 and tick Saturday and Sunday.
4. Save.

Do not tick the same day in both times unless you want the activity twice that day: each time draws its own planned entry. A reminder needs a clock time, so a weekend time left on Any time shows on the calendar without notifying you.

Why not two separate activities?

You could create "Run (weekday)" and "Run (weekend)", but you would split one habit into two histories. With one activity:

• every run sits under the same tile, so filtering the calendar shows all your runs at once
• notes from past runs show together when you log the next one
• you change the photo, color or name once

Separate activities make sense only when the thing itself differs, such as a short weekday stretch and a long weekend yoga session.

When the weekend is not Saturday and Sunday

Shift workers, students and parents often have "weekends" on other days. The same setup works for any split: one time for the days that start early, one for the days that start late, up to four times in all. If your days change from week to week, fixed weekdays will not fit; see routines for shift workers. For a habit you do twice on the same day, see twice a day at different times.

Common questions

Keep reading

More on this topic

• Two-week habit trial: a schedule template with a built-in end date
  Try a new habit for exactly two weeks: a copyable template, a keep-or-drop rule set in advance, free daily logging and a day 14 review that decides.
• Weekday-only routine schedule template: Monday to Friday, nothing on weekends
  A copyable Monday to Friday routine template and how to schedule it in EasyRoutine so workday habits show only on weekdays and your weekend stays clear.
• Can EasyRoutine track a one-time task, or only recurring ones?
  Yes, within limits. Plan a one-time task on a single date with a reminder (Premium), or log it any time for free. EasyRoutine is built for repeating tasks.
• Your schedule doesn't match your actual routine anymore? Plan for the usual week
  Planned habits keep showing as missed? How to compare your plan with what you really do, move times and days to fit the usual week, and keep the old weeks honest.
• My activity runs on the wrong weekdays: how to fix days scheduled by mistake
  Picked the wrong days when you set up a schedule? Change the weekdays on that time and the new pattern replaces the old one. Your past logs stay as they are.
• Changing my schedule made old weeks show the wrong missed days
  Edited a schedule and old weeks now show different missed days? Why faded entries follow the current plan, and how to change a plan without rewriting history.
• How to pause a schedule temporarily without deleting it
  Going away for a week? EasyRoutine has no pause switch, but you can end a schedule before the break and restart it after, mute reminders, or archive for a while.
• How to plan next week in advance (and see it on one calendar)
  Plan next week in advance in 15 minutes: look back, place fixed dates, fit habits around them. In EasyRoutine, scheduled activities already sit on future days.
• How to schedule an activity twice a day at different times
  Need a morning and an evening slot for the same activity? Add two scheduled times to one activity, such as 8:00 and 20:00, each with its own days and reminder.
• My scheduled activity didn't show up today: what to check
  A scheduled activity is missing from today's calendar? Check the weekdays, the active period, the selected routine, a highlighted tile and whether it was archived.
• How to stop a treatment schedule automatically after two weeks
  Set a short treatment to end by itself: give the scheduled time a From and an Until date, and it shows and reminds you only between them. No deleting afterwards.
• What's the difference between scheduling and logging?
  Scheduling says when you plan to do something; logging records what you actually did. Why a new schedule changes little at first, and what is free.