Download the form
The blank PDF prints on one US Letter page. The spreadsheet has the blank form, the filled-in example and a short how-to sheet. Its Status column has a dropdown, and a Check column flags a day left blank, missing times, and a finish time that isn't after the start.
The spreadsheet uses only basic formulas (IF, AND, OR, ROUND) and no macros, and it sends nothing anywhere. We checked its formulas and print layout in LibreOffice Calc. If you save it as a CSV, you keep the answers but lose the dropdowns, checks and formatting.
What each answer means
The form gives every day three choices, because “free”, “free in the afternoon” and “not free” lead to different schedules. A blank day is the fourth case, and it's the one that causes trouble.
| Answer | What it means | When you schedule |
|---|---|---|
| Any time | They can work any shift that day. | Schedule as needed, within the hours they'd like. |
| Between 2 PM and 10 PM | Shifts that day start at 2 PM or later and finish by 10 PM. | A 3 PM to 9 PM shift fits. A 1 PM to 7 PM shift doesn't. |
| Not available | No shifts that day. | Ask before scheduling them, and expect a no. |
| Left blank | Unknown. | Ask. Don't read a blank day as “any time”. |
- The form has one window per day. If someone has two separate windows on the same day, ask them to write the second one in Notes.
- Each form has a start date, so you know which form applies to which week.
- The reason for a specific date is optional. You need to know when, not why.
A filled-in example
Sam is an adult student working as a barista. Sam has classes on Monday and Wednesday, is free from 2 PM on Tuesday and Thursday, can work any time on Friday and Saturday, and keeps Sunday free. The person and dates are illustrative.
| Day | Answer | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Not available | Classes |
| Tuesday | Between 2:00 PM and 10:00 PM | |
| Wednesday | Not available | Classes |
| Thursday | Between 2:00 PM and 10:00 PM | |
| Friday | Any time | |
| Saturday | Any time | |
| Sunday | Not available |
Three things the example shows:
- Sam would like 16 to 24 hours a week. Being free all day Friday and Saturday doesn't mean Sam wants both days in full.
- Sam's exam on Tuesday, February 16 falls in one of the two weekday windows. That week, Thursday is the only weekday Sam can work.
- The form starts on January 11 and replaces the one from September, so you know which answers apply to which week.
Collecting the forms
- Give the form to everyone at once, with a date to hand it back by.
- Check each form the day it comes back. Ask about blank days and unclear times while they're fresh.
- Keep one current form per person, with the date it starts. Put the hours they'd like next to it.
- When something changes, ask for a new form with its start date. Keep the old one until the new one applies.
For keeping availability current over months, see how to track employee availability. When the forms are in, the guide on how to make an employee schedule covers building the week around them.
When forms stop keeping up
Paper forms work while the team is small and availability rarely changes. They fall behind when the form in your drawer no longer matches what someone texted you last week. At that point it helps to have each person keep their own availability where you schedule, so you check the current version every time you build a week.