Block out calendar dates on Project Plan

rachkh

Hey! Seems that there is no easy way to block out dates on my project plan for holidays etc. Even if I put the 'date' in project settings under "non-working" days - I am still able to choose that day (shouldn't it block it off - or better yet go to the next working day?).

Seems like this should be a simple fix, but I can't seem to figure it out. Help!

Bassam Khalil

Hi @rachkh,

Managing non-working days such as holidays effectively in your project plans is crucial for accurate scheduling and resource planning. While Smartsheet offers flexibility in project management, its approach to handling non-working days might require a bit of manual setup to achieve the desired outcome. Here's how you can address your concerns:

Adjusting Non-Working Days in Smartsheet

1. Setting Non-Working Days: In Smartsheet, when you mark dates as non-working in the Project Settings, it's primarily for the purpose of calculating working days for tasks. This setting influences the duration and end dates of tasks that are set to auto-schedule. However, it does not automatically prevent you from manually setting a task to start or end on these non-working days.
2. Manual Task Adjustment: If you manually schedule a task to start or end on a non-working day, Smartsheet will allow it, assuming you have a specific reason for doing so. The idea here is to provide flexibility rather than enforce a strict blocking of dates.

Workarounds and Best Practices

• Automatic Adjustment: To have tasks automatically skip non-working days, ensure that your tasks are set to use the "Auto-Schedule" feature. This way, when you enter task durations, Smartsheet calculates the end date based on the working days defined in your project settings, skipping any non-working days.
• Visual Indicators: For a visual reminder of non-working days, you can add a row at the top of your project plan specifically for marking holidays and other non-working days. Use conditional formatting to change the background color of these cells, making it visually clear which days are off.
• Project Templates: Consider creating a project template that includes these non-working days and any other project-specific settings. This can save time and ensure consistency across all your projects.
• Custom Columns: Another approach is to add a custom column to indicate whether a day is a working day or not. You can use this in conjunction with formulas to warn you if a task's start or end date falls on a non-working day.