How to Create a Weekend Work Calendar in Microsoft Project

In this blog post, I’m going to walk you through how to create a custom weekend work calendar in Microsoft Project. A custom calendar, in this context, is a base calendar you build from scratch to reflect a non-standard working schedule — one that doesn’t follow the typical Monday-through-Friday pattern. Instead of fighting against Project’s default assumptions, you’ll define exactly when work happens on your project, down to the hours.

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Why does this matter? Suppose you’re managing a construction project where a crew is only permitted to work on Saturdays and Sundays due to noise ordinances or site access restrictions. If you use the default Standard calendar, Microsoft Project will schedule that work during the weekdays — which is completely wrong for your situation. A custom weekend work calendar tells Microsoft Project to treat Saturday and Sunday as the official working days, and Monday through Friday as non-working days. The result is a schedule that actually reflects reality.

This is one of those foundational skills that pays off on almost every project where the work doesn’t fit a traditional workweek. Let’s dive in!

Opening the Change Working Time Dialog

The first thing you need to do is open the tool where all calendar customization happens in Microsoft Project. Here’s how to get there:

1. Click the Project tab on the ribbon.
2. In the Properties group, click the Change Working Time button.

This opens the Change Working Time dialog, which is your control center for all base calendars in your schedule. Notice that Microsoft Project ships with three built-in base calendars — Standard, Night Shift, and 24 Hours. You’re going to create a brand new one alongside these.

Creating the New Base Calendar

Here’s how to create the foundation for your weekend work calendar:

1. In the Change Working Time dialog, click the Create New Calendar button in the upper right.
2. In the Create New Base Calendar dialog that appears, select the Create new base calendar option.
3. In the Name field, replace the default text with a descriptive name. For this walkthrough, let’s call it Weekend Work.
4. Click OK.

Notice that your new Weekend Work calendar now appears in the calendar drop-down at the top of the Change Working Time dialog. At this point, it’s essentially a copy of the Standard calendar — you haven’t changed any of the working times yet. That comes next.

Defining the Working Schedule for Saturday and Sunday

Now it’s time to tell Microsoft Project that Saturday and Sunday are your official working days. Here’s how to do that:

1. Click the Work Weeks tab near the bottom of the dialog.
2. Select the [Default] row in the Work Weeks table, then click the Details button.
3. In the Details dialog, select Saturday in the day list on the left side.
4. Hold the Ctrl key and click Sunday to select both days at once.
5. Choose the third option: Set day(s) to these specific working times.
6. In the working time grid below, enter your working hours. For example, you might set the first shift from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM and a second shift from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM — giving you a standard 8-hour workday on the weekend.

One important thing to note is that Microsoft Project will not automatically clear out any existing rows in the time grid. If there are leftover entries from a previous selection, delete them before entering your weekend hours to avoid scheduling errors.

Marking Monday Through Friday as Non-Working Days

With the weekend hours set, the next step is to flip the weekdays so that Microsoft Project knows no work happens Monday through Friday on this calendar. Here’s how:

1. Still inside the Details dialog, click Monday in the day list.
2. Hold Shift and click Friday to select all five weekdays at once.
3. Choose the second option: Set days to nonworking time.
4. Click OK to close the Details dialog.
5. Click OK again to close the Change Working Time dialog.

Notice that when you look at the calendar grid at the top of the Change Working Time dialog before closing it, the weekdays appear shaded (indicating non-working time) while Saturday and Sunday display with your defined working hours. That’s exactly what you want.

If you want to go deeper than individual tips and build real confidence working with calendars, resources, and schedules in Microsoft Project, I have in-depth training courses designed specifically for Project practitioners at every level — you can view Dale’s Microsoft Project training courses.

Reviewing What Your Custom Calendar Looks Like

Before you start assigning this calendar, it’s worth taking a moment to review what you’ve built. Reopen the Change Working Time dialog and select the Weekend Work calendar from the drop-down. Scroll through a few weeks in the calendar grid. Weekdays will appear grayed out with an “NW” indicator for non-working, and Saturdays and Sundays will show the working hours you entered.

This visual confirmation is one of the best ways to catch any mistakes before you apply the calendar to tasks or resources. If something looks off — say, Friday is still showing as a working day — go back into the Work Weeks details and correct it now, rather than after you’ve already assigned the calendar throughout your project.

What to Do Next: Applying Your Weekend Work Calendar

Creating the calendar is only step one. To make it useful, you’ll need to assign it either to specific tasks (as a task calendar) or to specific resources who work exclusively on weekends. You can assign a task calendar by opening the Task Information dialog for any task, clicking the Advanced tab, and selecting your Weekend Work calendar from the Calendar drop-down. For a resource, open the Resource Information dialog and select the calendar from the Base Calendar field on the General tab.

And that’s it! You now know how to build a custom weekend work calendar in Microsoft Project from the ground up — defining working hours for Saturday and Sunday while marking all weekdays as non-working. This is a skill that will serve you well anytime your project involves non-traditional work schedules.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a base calendar in Microsoft Project?

A base calendar is a template that defines the standard working and non-working days and hours for a project, resource, or task. Microsoft Project comes with three built-in base calendars — Standard, Night Shift, and 24 Hours — but you can create as many custom base calendars as your projects require.

Can I create more than one custom calendar in the same Project file?

Yes, absolutely. You can create as many base calendars as you need within a single Project file. For example, you might have one calendar for a weekend crew, another for a night shift team, and another for contractors who observe different holidays. Each calendar exists independently and can be assigned to different resources or tasks as needed.

How do I assign a custom calendar to a specific task?

Double-click the task to open the Task Information dialog, then click the Advanced tab. You’ll see a Calendar field where you can select any base calendar defined in your file, including your custom Weekend Work calendar. Once assigned, Microsoft Project will schedule that task according to the calendar’s working times rather than the project calendar.

What happens if a task calendar and a resource calendar conflict?

When a task calendar and a resource calendar are both assigned, Microsoft Project by default schedules work only during times that are working on both calendars — meaning it uses the intersection of the two calendars. You can override this behavior by checking the Scheduling ignores resource calendars checkbox on the Advanced tab of the Task Information dialog, which forces the task to follow only the task calendar.

Will my custom calendar be available in other Project files?

Not automatically. Custom calendars are stored within the Project file where you created them. However, you can use the Organizer (found under the File tab in the Info section) to copy custom calendars from one Project file to another, or to the Global.mpt file so they become available in all new projects you create.

Can I apply a custom calendar to a resource instead of a task?

Yes. Open the Resource Information dialog by double-clicking the resource in the Resource Sheet. On the General tab, you’ll see a Base Calendar field. Select your custom calendar from the drop-down, and Microsoft Project will schedule that resource’s work according to those hours going forward.

Where can I learn more about creating custom calendars in Microsoft Project?

Dale Howard has a library of free tutorials on his YouTube channel, plus in-depth training courses available at dalehowardmvp.com.

Ready to master Microsoft Project?

If you’re serious about building accurate, professional schedules, Dale’s training courses give you the structured, hands-on guidance you need to work confidently in Microsoft Project. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to sharpen your advanced skills, there’s a course built for you.View Dale’s Training Courses