Shifts is a brand new app by the folks at Built by Snowman, the makers behind Checkmark, Super Squares, and Circles. Their latest app is Shifts, a iOS calendar app for those who work shifts. Rather than focusing on a calendar that incorporates todos, emails, GTD, or whatever else you can find searching for “calendar apps,” Shifts focuses on people who work shifts: Doctors, locksmiths, bartenders, emergency responders, and everyone else not sitting in an office from 9-5. The app lets users view their own shifts, share them with friends, and, if you add your hourly wage, estimates your monthly earnings.
Once a user has created a shift (customizing colour, name, and icon), they simply add their shifts to the applicable days. Shifts allows up to two shifts per day (a morning and night shift, for instance), and even gives the option to setup rotations and recurring shifts. Users’ own calendar can also be added to Shifts, so other important events are forefront.
Another feature of Shifts that I really like is the ability to add notes on certain days. By tapping the day of your shift, you are presented with an overlay not covering a third of the screen that shows the shift information, but also the option to write a quick thought. I find this could be useful for explaining the reason for a shift on a not-regular day (filling in for someone, perhaps), but it can also be used for adding location, special tools to bring, et cetera.
As if the app could be any more feature-rich, it also adds a Today widget that will show you upcoming shifts, reminding you of them before it starts.
You can download Shifts for iPhone at the amazing intro price of $1.99 before it rises to $4.99 when the sale ends.