Creating and Distributing Activities

Learn how to create new activities, perform bulk operations, and automatically distribute activities to employees.

What Is This?

Activities in Shifton represent tasks or assignments that employees need to complete, beyond their regular shifts. This article covers three key workflows:

Creating an activity

mdash; adding a single new activity with specific details like time, employee, and type.

Mass actions

mdash; selecting multiple activities and deleting them in bulk.

Distributing activities

mdash; automatically assigning unassigned activities to available employees based on scheduling rules.

These tools are available as buttons at the top of the Activity Calendar page.

Prerequisites

#	Prerequisite	Details
1	Activity Calendar accessible	You must have access to the Activity page.
2	Employees assigned to projects	Employees must be part of a project to receive activities.
3	Activity templates (optional)	Having templates makes creating repeated activities faster.
4	Manager or Admin role	Creating and distributing activities requires elevated permissions.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Creating a Single Activity

Step	Action	Expected Result
1	Navigate to the Activity Calendar page.	The calendar view loads.
2	Click the Create an activity button at the top of the page.	A creation form or dialog opens.
3	Fill in the activity details:
	– Activity name or type	Identifies the activity.
	– Date and time	When the activity should take place.
	– Duration	How long the activity lasts.
	– Employee (optional)	Assign to a specific employee, or leave blank to add to Free activities.
	– Project	Associate the activity with a project.
	– Notes (optional)	Add any relevant details or instructions.
4	Click Save or Create.	The activity appears on the calendar. If no employee was assigned, it appears in the Free activities row.

Using Mass Actions

Step	Action	Expected Result
1	On the Activity Calendar, click the Mass actions button.	The calendar enters selection mode.
2	Select multiple activities by clicking on them.	Selected activities are highlighted.
3	Click Delete to remove all selected activities.	A confirmation prompt appears.
4	Confirm the deletion.	The selected activities are removed from the calendar.
5	Click Done or exit selection mode.	The calendar returns to normal view.

Note: Mass actions only support Delete. To reassign an activity or change its status, edit the activity individually.

Distributing Activities Automatically

Step	Action	Expected Result
1	Ensure there are unassigned activities in the Free activities row on the calendar.	At least one activity is unassigned.
2	Click the Distribute activity button at the top of the page.	A distribution dialog or configuration panel opens.
3	Review or adjust distribution settings (e.g., which employees to include, date range, position filters).	Settings are configured for your needs.
4	Click Distribute or Apply.	The system automatically assigns free activities to available employees based on their schedules, positions, and availability.
5	Review the calendar to confirm assignments.	Previously unassigned activities now appear in employee rows.

Activity Creation Quick Reference

Field	Required	Description
Activity name/type	Yes	The name or type of the activity (can be from a template).
Date and time	Yes	The scheduled start date and time.
Duration	Yes	How long the activity should last.
Employee	No	Leave blank for the Free activities pool, or assign directly.
Project	Yes	The project this activity belongs to.
Location	No	The work location for the activity.
Notes	No	Additional instructions or context for the employee.

Access Permissions

Role	Create Activities	Use Mass Actions	Distribute Activities	View Activities
Employee	No	No	No	Own only
Manager	Yes	Yes	Yes	All
Admin	Yes	Yes	Yes	All
Owner	Yes	Yes	Yes	All

FAQ

Q1: What happens if I create an activity without assigning an employee?
The activity is added to the Free activities row on the calendar. It remains there until it is manually assigned to an employee or distributed using the Distribute activity feature.

Q2: Can I undo a mass action?
No. Mass deletion is irreversible. Always double-check your selection before confirming.

Q3: How does automatic distribution decide which employee gets an activity?
The distribution algorithm considers employee availability (based on published schedules), position match, and workload balance. The exact logic may vary based on your company’s configuration.

Q4: Can I distribute activities to specific employees only?
Yes. When using the Distribute activity feature, you can filter by employee, position, or other criteria to limit which employees receive assignments.

Q5: Is there a limit to how many activities I can create at once?
There is no hard limit for individual creation. For bulk creation, consider using Activity Templates or import features if available in your plan.

Possible Issues and Solutions

Issue	Possible Cause	Solution
“Create an activity” button is not visible	Insufficient permissions.	Contact your Admin to ensure your role has activity creation rights.
Distribution assigns activities to the wrong employees	Filter settings were not configured correctly before distributing.	Adjust the distribution filters (position, employee, schedule) and redistribute.
Mass action does not apply to all selected activities	Some activities may have a status or ownership that prevents the action.	Review which activities were not affected and handle them individually.
Activity does not appear on the calendar after creation	The calendar view or filters may be hiding the new activity.	Check your date range, view mode, and left panel filters. Reset filters if needed.
No activities available for distribution	All activities are already assigned, or none have been created.	Create new activities or check if existing ones are already assigned to employees.