How to Make a Firefighter Shift Calendar
Making a firefighter shift calendar helps keep you and your family organized by knowing which days are duty days and which are not. Once created, firefighter shift calendars can be printed in multiple sizes, such as one for home use and another smaller one for a pocketbook or wallet. If you have a firefighter shift calendar and need to schedule an appointment, consulting the calendar will make planning a snap.
Things You'll Need
- Word processing software
- Paper
- Printer
- Laminate sheets
- Annual calendar for reference
Instructions
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Open your word processor software. Microsoft Word or iWork Pages both work well because they have calendar templates, but any word processor software will do.
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Choose a yearly calendar template and updated based on this calendar year. This template provides the entire year on one page. Each month is a small square with only numbers to show the specific days.
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Determine your shift days. Each fire department has different work schedules. For example, if you work 24 hours on and then 24 hours off, your duty will fall on every third day. Most fire departments name their shifts, such as A-shift, B-shift or C-shift.
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Select a color to highlight your shift or one color for each shift. You may highlight your shift days in a color of your choosing such as red or green and leave the rest black. You may also decide to color each shift differently. The choice is yours to decide which works best for your situation.
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Highlight and change your shift days to the color of choice for the entire year. Depending upon you choice in the previous step, you may change every day or just the ones for your shift.
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Print the calendar. Print a full-size calendar for home use. To print a smaller portable calendar, change the size and output in the word processing program under the document's settings.
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Laminate the calendar. This step is optional, but laminated pages stay clean and neat longer. This is especially important for shift calendars that will be carried in a wallet or pocketbook and used often. Lamination sheets can be found in crafts stores, or some copy stores will laminate items for a small fee.
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Tips & Warnings
Firehouse.com has a shift calendar template that generates a simple calendar in minutes. The drawback is that it cannot be customized.
References
- Photo Credit calendar image by Destard from Fotolia.com
