Name rotation: whose turn is it?

Put names in, get a fair take-turns schedule you can share with a link.

Create your name rotation

Please provide a task name.
Select a frequency.
Select a start date.
One person per line, in the order you want them to take turns. A name is enough; add a comma and an email address if you want that person to get reminders.
Add at least one person.

Free, and no login needed. You get a link to share with the team.

The next few turns

Updates as you type. Nothing is saved until you create the rotation.

  1. Mon, Oct 5 add names
  2. Mon, Oct 12 add names
  3. Mon, Oct 19 add names
  4. Mon, Oct 26 add names
  5. Mon, Nov 2 add names

After that it keeps going in the same order for a year.


How it works

①

Add the people

Type one name per line, in the order you want them to take turns. Emails are optional.

②

Check the dates

Whose turn?, every week, starting October 5. Change any of it before you create the rotation.

③

Share the link

You get a year of turns and a link anyone can open. Sign in to claim it and turn on reminders.


Rotating a list of names fairly

A fixed order beats a random pick for anything that repeats. Random feels fair in the moment and stops being fair over a month, because nothing prevents the same name coming up three times while somebody else is still waiting. Going through the list in order gives everyone exactly one turn per cycle, which is both the simplest definition of fair and the only one anybody can check by looking.

Type the names in the order you want them to go. If that order matters for a reason, say it out loud once (alphabetical, by desk, by who joined when) and then leave it alone. Most disputes about turn-taking are really disputes about whether the order was chosen after somebody knew what the turns were.

People joining and leaving is where lists usually rot. Adding a name at the end means they wait a full cycle; removing one leaves a gap where their turns used to be. Rebalancing redeals every future turn around the current list in one click and leaves past turns alone, so the schedule stays even without you rebuilding it. It is a Team Toolkit feature at $19 a year.

Then share one link, not a screenshot. A screenshot goes stale the first time anything changes, and then two people have two different answers. Every RotaHog rotation has its own link that shows the live schedule to anyone who opens it, no account required.

Need a one-time random pick instead? Spin the wheel. The wheel picks one name right now and forgets it; a rotation gives everyone a turn, with dates, and remembers.


Make it automatic

A shared link answers "whose turn is it?" on its own. Reminders stop people having to ask in the first place.

Claim the rotation with a Google sign-in and RotaHog emails whoever is up before their turn, for free. Everything below is on Team Toolkit, $19 a year for the whole team:

Slack reminders with buttons

The reminder posts in your channel with Mark as done and Find a substitute buttons, so the person on duty can answer without leaving Slack.

Completion tracking

Turns get marked done, missed or overdue, so the schedule shows what actually happened and not just what was planned. You can set how early and how late a turn may be completed.

Substitutes and skipping

Hand a single turn to someone else, name a backup ahead of time, or cancel a turn entirely when there is a holiday or an offsite. The rest of the order stays as it was.

Rebalancing

When somebody joins or leaves, redeal every future turn around the new list in one click instead of rebuilding the schedule by hand.

Also included: replying to the reminder email to mark your turn done, the REST API, and the MCP server for asking an AI assistant whose turn it is. Calendar sync, analytics and team branding are not built yet, and neither is skipping public holidays automatically.

See what's in each plan

Questions

How do I rotate a list of names fairly?

Go through the list in a fixed order and repeat. Over a full cycle everyone gets exactly one turn, which is the simplest definition of fair and the easiest to check. Type the names above in the order you want and RotaHog assigns dates to them, one after another, for a year.

What's the difference between this and the wheel of names?

The wheel picks one person at random, right now, and forgets it afterwards. A name rotation gives everyone a turn in order, with dates, and keeps the schedule at a link you can send round. Use the wheel for a one-off pick and a rotation for anything that repeats.

Can people see the schedule without an account?

Yes. Every rotation gets its own link, and anyone with that link can see the full schedule without signing in or being invited. You only need an account to claim the rotation, which is what turns on reminders and lets you change it later.

What happens when someone joins or leaves?

Add or remove them in the participant list. Rebalancing, a Team Toolkit feature at $19 a year, then redeals every future turn around the new list so the order stays even instead of leaving a gap where the person who left used to be. Past turns are left alone.

Is it free?

Yes. Building a name rotation and sharing the link costs nothing and needs no account. A free account gets two rotations of up to five names each with email reminders; larger lists and rebalancing are on Team Toolkit at $19 a year.


Other free rotation tools

See all free rotation tools