FIELD GUIDE / GRID ANATOMY
Seven columns. Variable depth.
A month is not a rectangle by nature. It becomes one when a weekday sequence is folded into rows of seven.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
01 / The 5×7 cell system
Five week rows and seven weekday columns provide 35 writing cells. The weekday header is a label row, not a sixth week. A cell represents a position in the sequence, even when that position lies outside the named month.
02 / Count rows, don’t assume them
Let D be the number of days and o the number of cells before day 1, measured from the chosen week origin. The natural row count is ceil((o + D) / 7). February 2027 begins on Monday: with Monday first, o = 0 and D = 28, so four rows suffice. With Sunday first, o = 1 and five rows are needed.
03 / When five rows fail
May 2027 begins on Saturday and has 31 days. Its Monday-first offset is 5; 5 + 31 = 36 occupied positions require six rows. A 5×7 dated template cannot contain every month without splitting, combining or dropping a date.
04 / Natural versus fixed
Natural layouts use four, five or six week rows. Fixed six-week layouts always use 42 cells, giving repeatable page geometry at the cost of more overflow or empty space. Do not compress two dates into one cell if one-cell-per-day consistency matters.
05 / Overflow is a continuation
Leading and trailing dates belong to adjacent months. Label them with lower emphasis, not illegible contrast, and retain their complete dates for assistive technology. The May specimen above includes April 26–30 and June 1–6.