When you look at big time streamers, it seems like some of them have a set stream schedule that they follow while others just wake up and stream when and if they feel like it. So which is the better way?

In this article we will discuss having a streaming schedule and why having one may or may not be for you.

Is it Important to Have a Schedule on Twitch?

Yes, it is important to have a schedule for streaming on Twitch, especially if you are just beginning to stream. Streamers who have thousands of viewers every stream can get away with not having a set streaming schedule, but If you are trying to grow your channel then having a streaming schedule is very important. In fact, even streamers with thousands of viewers still keep and maintain a streaming schedule.

For many viewers, these streams are like a TV show that they can tune into. If people like your streams enough, they will even make it a part of their daily routine to tune in and watch your streams.

Maybe people know you stream in the afternoon so they can watch you on their lunch break. Or maybe you are an evening streamer and so your viewers will check out the stream at night before bed. 

Without a schedule, you are expecting people to tune in whenever you want them to and that makes it much more difficult to build any kind of consistency and following that way. 

Why is it Important to have a Streaming Schedule

It’s important to have a streaming schedule because it makes you and your channel easier to follow. It will be much more difficult to build a loyal base of followers if your viewers never know when you will be going live. If people know when you will be going live then they can plan accordingly. 

Imagine never knowing when your favorite TV show would be on. Imagine if the only times you would know if your favorite show was on or not was when you got a notification on your phone saying they were on.

Now ask yourself, would you be more or less likely to tune into this show if this were the case? Now apply that to your stream. Do you think people will be more or less likely to tune in if they never know when you will be going live?

Now even if you have a streaming schedule, you still want to post about yourself going live on your socials just to remind people in case they forgot. It doesn’t hurt you to send out a tweet or an Instagram story about you going live.

If you have a small enough community, you can even message them directly and remind them to tune in to your channel.

People who like your stream will want to support you in order to see you grow, you just have to make it easy on them so they can plan when and how they are going to support you. 

I also find that having and keeping a streaming schedule makes it easier for the streamer as well. For me, I stream every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening starting at 7:00 PST.

I know that these are my stream times and so it allows me to prepare and plan accordingly. Check out and follow my channel at https://www.twitch.tv/streamersplaybook.

So if we can agree that making a streaming schedule is the move, then now we go on to the next step of how do you create a streaming schedule. 

How to Make a Schedule on Twitch?

There are two ways to make a schedule on Twitch: one is by editing the stream schedule section on your creator dashboard and the other way that many streamers make a schedule on Twitch is by creating a Twitch panel that includes their streaming schedule. You can choose to do both, one or neither. The choice is up to you if you want your schedule on Twitch or not. However, it is common for streamers to do one or the other. 

I will go into greater detail on how to make your schedule on Twitch below.

Editing your stream schedule through creator dashboard

If you go to your channel on Twitch, you will see a section that says “schedule”. This is the section that we are going to edit. 

In order to edit this section click on the “edit schedule” tab to the far right (I highlighted it below for you to see). 

Once you click on that “edit schedule” tab it will take you to the schedule section of the creator dashboard as seen below. 

From here you can make all kinds of edits to your stream. As you can see on my schedule I only like to put the days that I am going to stream.

I have seen some streamers put “off” or “not streaming” on the days that they don’t stream and I don’t think that you have to do that.

I assume that people can figure out that if it’s not in the schedule then it probably is not going to happen. 

As you can see you can also switch to vacation mode if you will be taking a few days off. How or what you put in your schedule is up to you, but just make sure that if you create a schedule that you stick to it as best you can.

If you don’t want a schedule then you can even delete this section if you want. 

Once you’re done editing the changes you made will appear underneath the schedule section of your Twitch channel. In this schedule section you can even put videos from previous streams. If you need more help creating a schedule on Twitch, check out my video below.

Using a Twitch panel to display your schedule

Another way to display your schedule is by creating a Twitch panel with your schedule on it. This is what my Twitch schedule panel looks like for example:

As you can see I only put the days and times that I stream. Nothing fancy, but it gets the point across. 

To edit your Twitch panels go to the about me section where the panels are located and turn the edit panels button on. 

Then just create a panel that has your schedule on it and you are good to go. If you want more information on what should go in your Twitch panels then check out this article that I recently wrote here.

I personally think it is better to put your streaming schedule on both your panels and in the actual schedule section on your channel. This gives more chances for people to see when you will be streaming.

It’s also simple so why not just do it? I also added a quick video below if you need even more help adding panels on Twitch.

As always, if you have any questions or just want to hang with me, stop by my Twitch channel here and say what’s up!

It is important to have a streaming schedule so that way people know when you will be streaming. In the beginning it is all about building a community and so letting that community know when you will all be linking up is important. 

Setting up your schedule on Twitch is also super simple and so it is not like you will have to spend the whole day trying to figure how to display your schedule. You can literally have your schedule posted on Twitch in less than five minutes and so there is no reason not to. 

Lastly, if you choose not to have a schedule, you should at least be posting on your socials to let others know when you will be loading up and going live.

Keep your schedules right! Good luck out there!