The night the clocks fall back

Ten to six, nine hours long

On paper, ten at night to six in the morning is eight hours. On the night the clocks fall back, one o'clock happens twice, and that same shift runs nine.

This year it lands on Halloween. Saturday night, October 31, into Sunday morning. So whoever's on that overnight inherits the last of the candy bowl, the porch light someone forgot to switch off, and a bonus hour right in the quietest part of the night.

The schedule still says 10p–6a. It looks like every other Saturday. That's the whole trick of it, and it's why the night deserves a little planning this week.

A short list for this week

• Tell the person working it. “You've got the long one” is a kind thing to hear on a Thursday. It's a rough thing to work out for yourself at 1:59.
• Make sure the pay says nine. They worked nine hours. Check that the timeclock and payroll agree, and if that night needs a hand adjustment, write the note now while everyone still remembers why.
• Ask the nurse about anything timed between one and two. One a.m. happens twice. If something on the MAR falls in that window, decide ahead of time which one o'clock counts, and put it where the overnight will see it.
• Expect two 1:30s in the log. An entry at 1:30 and another at 1:30 an hour later looks odd on Monday morning. “Second 1:30, after the clocks went back” takes five seconds to write and saves a confused phone call.
• Decide who owns the house clocks. Phones change themselves. The microwave doesn't. Neither does the stove, the kitchen wall clock, or the one in the van that's been a few minutes fast since spring. Some houses hand it to the overnight, who has the time. Some leave it for whoever opens on Sunday. Either works, as long as it's someone by name.

That last one matters more than it sounds. For anyone whose day runs on a routine, a stove clock that's an hour off is a real thing to wake up to. Breakfast at the usual time should look like the usual time.

A small alarm clock on the schedule

In Delegyn Shift, the schedule marks this night for you. The overnight that crosses the change gets a small badge, ⏰ 1h longer, and the note on it says the clocks go back tonight and the shift is an hour longer than it looks. It shows up on a phone, too, not just on a big screen.

It reads each home's own time zone, so a home set to Arizona time, where the clocks stay put, gets no badge at all. In March it marks the opposite night, the overnight that's an hour short.

And then, in March

Spring runs it the other way. On Sunday, March 14, 2027, two a.m. never happens, and the overnight that night is seven hours. Same list, opposite direction.

Until then: to whoever is working the night of October 31, thank you for the extra hour. Someone should save you the good candy.

Try it on this week See what it costs

Fourteen days, your real schedule, no card. $20 a month plus $1 per staff member.