Getting started: your first conflict-free schedule
Schedule My Lessons turns a list of students and their availability into a conflict-free timetable — automatically. This guide walks you from an empty app to a finished schedule in five steps. It takes about five minutes.
You'll need the app installed on your iPhone or iPad — or on an Apple Silicon Mac (M1 and later), where the iPad app runs natively. Everything happens on your device; there's no account to create and no internet connection required.
Step 1 — Add your students
Open the Add tab and choose Add Student, or import a whole list at once (see Importing and exporting). Each student has a name, an activity or course (like "Piano" or "Spanish"), and a lesson length. In a hurry? Quick Add lets you type several names in a row.
Step 2 — Set when each student is free
Open a student and tap the days they're available, then set the time slots for each day. A student can have more than one time slot on the same day (say, before school and after). Tap the star (★) on a time slot to mark it as preferred — the scheduler will try those times first.
Step 3 — Create a schedule
Go to the Schedules tab and tap +. Give the schedule a name (like "Spring Term"), pick which students to include, and set your teaching hours for each day. This is also where you add breaks or groups — but you can skip those for now.
Step 4 — Generate
Tap Generate. The app checks every student's availability against your hours and places everyone without conflicts.
Step 5 — Share it
Open your finished schedule and tap Export. Send it as a PDF, open it in Excel or Google Sheets, or print it straight from your phone. Full details in Importing and exporting.
What if someone doesn't fit?
If a student can't be placed — usually because their availability doesn't overlap your teaching hours — they appear in a banner above the timetable with the reason. Tap the banner to adjust their availability or make room, and they'll slot in. Nothing is ever lost.
Good to know
- Your first schedule takes a few minutes to set up. After that, regenerating or tweaking is quick.
- No account or internet needed — the app works fully offline, and your student data stays on your device.
- The free plan covers up to 8 students and 1 schedule; Pro removes those limits (see Subscription & pricing).
- It works for any recurring lesson — music, languages, math, sports, dance, art, and more.