> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://guide.worshipbuddy.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Managing Your Availability

> Set your availability to help schedulers plan effectively

# Managing Your Availability

Your availability directly impacts how schedulers assign you to services. By marking dates when you're unavailable, you help schedulers make informed decisions and avoid conflicts. This makes scheduling smoother for everyone involved.

## What is Availability?

In ChurchBuddy, availability is managed by marking dates when you are **unavailable**. Dates you don't mark are considered available. This approach makes it easier to mark occasional unavailability rather than marking every available date.

## Setting Your Unavailability

### From the Dashboard

1. Go to your **Dashboard**
2. Click the **"Schedule Your Availability"** button
3. A calendar popup will appear
4. Click on any date to mark it as unavailable
5. Dates marked as unavailable will show with a **red circle** indicator
6. Click the same date again to remove the unavailability mark
7. Your changes are saved automatically

### On Mobile

1. Open **My Schedule** tab
2. Tap **Set Your Unavailability**
3. Tap dates to mark unavailable (red)
4. Tap again to remove
5. Tap **Done** when finished — changes save automatically as you tap (no separate Save button)

## How Schedulers See Your Availability

When schedulers try to assign you to a service:

* If you're available, your name appears normally
* If you're unavailable, your name appears highlighted in **yellow**
* They can hover over your name to see why it's highlighted
* A tooltip will indicate that you're unavailable on that date

<Info>
  **Tip**: Marking unavailability in advance helps schedulers plan better and avoids last-minute conflicts.
</Info>

## Best Practices

1. **Mark dates early** - Set your unavailability as soon as you know about conflicts
2. **Be specific** - Only mark dates when you truly cannot serve
3. **Update regularly** - Remove unavailability marks if your plans change
4. **Check before marking** - Make sure you're not already scheduled before marking a date unavailable

## Viewing Your Current Unavailability

To see which dates you've marked as unavailable:

1. Open the availability calendar (Dashboard → "Schedule Your Availability")
2. Dates with red circles are your unavailable dates
3. You can click any red circle to remove it and make that date available again

## Availability and Service Scheduling

Your availability directly affects scheduling:

* Schedulers are warned if they try to assign you to a service on an unavailable date
* You can still be assigned on unavailable dates (the system shows a warning, but doesn't prevent it)
* This allows for flexibility when necessary, while still informing schedulers of potential issues

<Warning>
  **Important**: Even if you mark a date as unavailable, you may still be assigned to a service on that date. Always communicate with your schedulers about important conflicts.
</Warning>