# Event calendar planning worksheet

Companion guide: /learn/work-backward-from-an-event-date

Use this worksheet to define an unstarted job's latest handoffs. Dates and allowances are planning inputs, not a capacity hold, quote, shipment or delivery promise. This example uses one calendar for every stage. Confirm the actual shop, customer-response and delivery calendars before relying on your version.

## Your assumptions

| Field | Your value | Who or what confirms it? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Calendar name | | |
| Event date, YYYY-MM-DD | | |
| As-of date, YYYY-MM-DD | | |
| Event buffer, 0–365 calendar days | | |
| Proof and approval, 0–60 open days | | |
| Production, 0–60 open days | | |
| Transit, 0–60 open days | | |
| Open weekdays, at least one | | |
| Manually closed dates and reasons | | |
| Real handoff/cutoff that this date-only plan cannot establish | | |

Blank means unknown. Enter 0 only if zero is intended. Supported dates are 2020-01-01 through 2100-12-31, with at most 100 closure rows. No carrier, country-holiday or supplier calendar is supplied. Repeated closure dates count once; preserve their distinct reasons.

## Counting rule

1. Event date minus buffer calendar days gives the arrival target.
2. Align arrival to the latest open date on or before that target. List every skipped date and its reason.
3. Work backward from arrival by the transit allowance, then production, then proof.
4. Check each stage forward: count open dates after its starting handoff and through its ending date. Exclude the start; include the end. Zero days keeps start=end.
5. Compare the reader-selected as-of date with artwork. Before: modeled start has not passed. Equal: confirm the actual cutoff. After: too late for this unstarted schedule under these assumptions. Keep the calculated dates visible.

| Stage | Starting handoff (excluded) | Ending date (included) | Counted open dates | Skipped dates and reasons |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Proof and approval | | | | |
| Production | | | | |
| Transit | | | | |

Arrival target: ______  Aligned arrival: ______  Alignment dates skipped: ______

As-of assessment: ______  Calendar days past artwork: ______  Open days in (artwork, as-of]: ______

## Fictional answer key

Paper Lantern event materials. Event 2026-11-20, as-of 2026-11-02, buffer 1, proof 2, production 5, transit 3. Monday–Friday open. Manual closure 2026-11-11: “Shop closed — fictional example.” This is an invented shop closure, not a holiday-calendar claim.

| Stage | Start → end | Counted dates | Skipped dates |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Proof and approval | 2026-11-04 → 2026-11-06 | Nov 5, 6 | None |
| Production | 2026-11-06 → 2026-11-16 | Nov 9, 10, 12, 13, 16 | Weekends Nov 7, 8, 14, 15; entered closure Nov 11 |
| Transit | 2026-11-16 → 2026-11-19 | Nov 17, 18, 19 | None |

Arrival target and aligned arrival both equal 2026-11-19. The production interval contains 10 calendar dates: 5 counted + 5 skipped. The starting November 6 handoff is excluded.

Change only as-of to November 4: same-day start, with actual cutoff unknown. Change only as-of to November 5: 1 calendar day and 1 open day past artwork; all four milestone dates stay unchanged.

Remove only the November 11 closure: artwork becomes November 5, approval November 9; dispatch November 16 and arrival November 19 stay unchanged. Add a closure on Sunday November 8: no extra delay, because Sunday was already closed.

Separate zero-day exercise: event Sunday 2026-11-22, buffer 0, all three stage allowances 0, Monday–Friday open. Arrival aligns to Friday November 20; artwork, approval and dispatch also equal November 20. Alignment skips November 22 and 21. No stage counts any day.

## Test your app

| Check | Expected | Observed | Status |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Frozen example | Four dates and counted/skipped lists match this key | | Not tested |
| Blank proof allowance | Unknown; no old schedule or export remains | | Not tested |
| Explicit zero proof | Artwork=approval; zero proof days counted | | Not tested |
| Invalid date or no open weekday | Explain error; no completed schedule | | Not tested |
| Duplicate closure | One skipped date; distinct reasons remain visible | | Not tested |
| Passed artwork date | Retain dates and show too-late explanation | | Not tested |
| As-of equals artwork | Same-day message; actual cutoff still unknown | | Not tested |
| Different device timezone | Stored YYYY-MM-DD dates unchanged | | Not tested |
| Download and readable plan | Same assumptions, dates, reasons and limits | | Not tested |
| Clear, leave or reload | Inputs and previous download cleared | | Not tested |
| Keyboard and phone | Controls named; dates readable; table can scroll | | Not tested |

## Your build brief

Audience: ______  Decision the calendar helps them make: ______

Rules to change from the fictional example: ______

Use the Overskill brief builder at /learn#brief-builder and its Start build action. Ask for an anonymous calculation with no email gate. Keep inputs local for this first version. If you add stored settings or inquiries, specify who may change them and prove that one visitor cannot access another's private information.

The JSON export is an inspection record, not an import feature. Keep your downloaded file if you need a record after leaving. A working local calculation does not prove actual production or delivery capability.