Leave can remain binding
A calendar may contain many shared weekends while travel still requires weekday leave. Until PTO rises, extra dates do not increase the feasible count.
Love and relationship planning
Visit Schedule Calculator
Find the achievable number of relationship visits from compatible date blocks, PTO capacity, blackout periods, and desired cadence.
VISIT AVAILABILITY PLAN
Find the constraint that actually limits the next year of visits
Compatible dates, leave, and desired cadence are three separate capacities. This calculator calculates each one and chooses the smallest, so adding PTO does not appear to help when the calendar or cadence remains binding.
Achievable visits-
Binding constraint-
Usable compatible blocks-
PTO-supported visits-
Cadence-supported visits-
PTO remaining after plan-
VISIT AVAILABILITY PLAN
Calendar, leave, and cadence capacities
The binding constraint is the lowest independent capacity. Increasing a nonbinding input does not change achievable visits until it reaches the limiting capacity.
| Constraint | Available quantity | Requirement or removal | Visit capacity | Result meaning |
|---|
CURRENT CALCULATION
Use the minimum of independent capacities: formula, substitution, steps, and check
Ccalendar = max(0,W+K-B); CPTO = floor(PTO/p); Ccadence = floor(4.345M/g)+1; V = min(Ccalendar,CPTO,Ccadence)
The page removes known blackout blocks from jointly compatible dates, converts available leave into whole visits, calculates the number of starts permitted by the desired spacing, and uses the minimum as the feasible plan.
HOW TO USE THIS DECISION TOOL
Build a visit schedule from three calendars, not one wish
- Mark dates acceptable to both partners before counting compatible blocks.
- Remove known blackout periods only if they are already inside the compatibility count.
- Use PTO available for this plan after other committed leave, not an employer’s headline annual allowance.
- Estimate leave consumed per visit using the actual travel pattern.
- Treat the binding constraint as the next planning problem rather than increasing every input.
SUBJECT FOUNDATIONS
Five capacities inside a long-distance visit schedule
- Compatible block
- A date interval both partners can use for the visit.
- Blackout block
- A compatible-looking interval made unusable by a known constraint.
- PTO capacity
- Whole visits supportable by the leave available for this purpose.
- Cadence capacity
- Visit starts permitted by the desired spacing across the horizon.
- Binding constraint
- The smallest capacity that limits the feasible visit count.
MODEL BOUNDARY
Use the minimum of independent capacities
Ccalendar = max(0,W+K-B); CPTO = floor(PTO/p); Ccadence = floor(4.345M/g)+1; V = min(Ccalendar,CPTO,Ccadence)
The page removes known blackout blocks from jointly compatible dates, converts available leave into whole visits, calculates the number of starts permitted by the desired spacing, and uses the minimum as the feasible plan.
DECISION DEPTH
Why more available dates may produce no additional visits
Cadence can be a protective choice
Spacing may preserve savings, recovery, work stability, caregiving, or relationship balance. It should not automatically be minimized.
Compatibility quality matters
A weekend with an exam, medical recovery, or major family duty may be technically open but not genuinely usable. Define compatibility together.
REAL USE CASES
Two scheduling bottlenecks with different remedies
Plenty of weekends but little leave
A flight-based relationship may require a weekday on each side of travel. Negotiating flexible work could change capacity more than finding additional weekends.
Adequate PTO but few shared dates
Shift work and caregiving may make calendar compatibility the bottleneck. More leave for one partner does not create shared availability.
TERMS USED ON THIS PAGE
Visit scheduling vocabulary
- Planning horizon
- Future period across which capacities are counted.
- Date block
- One interval capable of holding a complete visit.
- Blackout
- Known exclusion applied to an otherwise compatible interval.
- Leave requirement
- PTO consumed by one visit under the entered pattern.
- Start cadence
- Minimum average spacing between visit starts.
- Slack
- Unused capacity in a constraint above the binding limit.
EVIDENCE TO RETAIN
Keep the calendar version behind the count
Retain both availability calendars, time zone, planning horizon, approved and tentative leave, blackout reasons at an appropriate privacy level, travel pattern, leave-per-visit assumption, cadence agreement, and the exact date on which availability was reconciled.
LIMITS AND EXCLUSIONS
What the capacity count does not schedule
- It does not select exact dates or resolve overlapping invitations, fare availability, or route disruptions.
- Compatible blocks are counted equally even when length, cost, or travel burden differs.
- Employer leave approval, immigration rules, health needs, and caregiving duties remain external.
- The cadence formula is an average-capacity approximation and does not replace calendar date arithmetic.
RELIABLE SOURCES
References that support this page's planning boundaries
QUESTIONS SPECIFIC TO THIS DECISION
Questions about building a feasible visit calendar
Why subtract blackout blocks from compatible dates?
Because they were initially counted as jointly open but cannot support a visit. A blackout outside the compatible set should not be subtracted again.
Why use floor for PTO capacity?
A partial visit cannot be supported when the full leave requirement is not available. The remaining fraction stays as unused PTO.
Why does cadence capacity add one?
A visit can begin at the start of the planning horizon, followed by additional starts separated by the entered cadence.
Can weekday and weekend blocks overlap?
They should not. Count each candidate visit interval once, choosing the category that best represents it.
What if more than one constraint ties?
The label shows the first equal minimum, but the ledger reveals the tie. Both constraints must improve before achievable visits increase.
Does this page book or recommend specific dates?
No. It measures capacity only; confirm exact calendars, fares, documents, safety, and leave approval before booking.
IMPORTANT BOUNDARY
Scheduling capacity does not create permission or availability
This tool provides personal schedule arithmetic and does not guarantee employer approval, carrier inventory, entry permission, health fitness, relationship consent, accessibility, or safe travel.