How it works
How Hourshare picks a time
Every rule is here. The planner uses exactly these numbers; nothing is hidden or tuned per team.
1. Points: what a meeting costs each person
| When the meeting falls | Points |
|---|---|
| Each started half hour of the meeting outside a person's working hours | 1 point |
| Each started half hour between 22:00 and 07:00 their time (sleep hours), on top | 2 more points |
| A meeting on a day the person does not work (instead of the out-of-hours points) | 6 points, plus any sleep-hour points |
| Inside the person's working hours, on a working day | 0 points |
Example: a 30-minute call at 21:45 for someone who works 09:00 to 17:00 is outside their hours (1 point) and runs into sleep hours (2 more): 3 points. The same call at 17:00 is 1 point.
2. Choosing each week's start time
Hourshare tries every start time on the organiser's calendar day, every 30 minutes, and keeps the one that is best in this order:
- Fewest people asked to meet between midnight and 06:00 their time.
- The lowest "highest running total": the person who has carried the most points so far (this week included) carries as little as possible.
- The lowest total points for the team this week.
- The start time closest to last week's, so the meeting does not jump around without a reason.
- The earliest start time.
So when a time inside everyone's hours exists, it wins every week at zero points. When none exists, the person with the highest running total gets the easier slot next, and the inconvenience takes turns.
3. The fixed-time comparison
Next to every rota, Hourshare shows the best single fixed time over the same weeks (fewest midnight-to-06:00 meetings, then lowest team total, then lowest highest person), so you can see what rotating changes.
4. Time zones and clock changes
Each meeting is placed on its real date. Local times come from the IANA time zone database (the data computers use to set their clocks), so clock changes in Europe, North America, Australia and elsewhere are applied on the dates they happen. The planner lists every change inside the rota's period and the weeks when the gap between two people is different.
5. What Hourshare does not do
- It does not read or write anyone's calendar, and it does not send invitations or email.
- It does not know about holidays, leave or local events; use the working days and the rota length to plan around them.
- It plans one recurring meeting per board. Working hours that cross midnight (night shifts) are not supported in this version.