So I got tired of regular calendars making me feel rushed, right? Started googling about alternative systems and stumbled on this 13-month thing. Each month has exactly 28 days, totaling 364 days, plus one extra “Year Day” to hit 365. Leap years get two extra days. Sounded weird but I decided to fully commit for three months as an experiment.
Phase 1: Getting My Tools Ready
First thing Monday morning, I grabbed a cheap wall calendar and crossed out all the traditional month names with a Sharpie. Wrote new month names like “Sol” and “Vega” – just made ’em up since this system doesn’t have official names. Created a Google Sheet with four sections per day: Must-Do, Might-Do, Notes, and Moon Phase (why not?). Made matching sticky note templates for my bathroom mirror.
The Ugly Adjustment Period
Total confusion for the first two weeks. Missed my dentist appointment because I kept converting dates like some amateur time-traveler. My phone’s calendar was fighting my new paper system so I:
- Printed my Google Sheet weekly view every Sunday
- Blocked every 28th day as “Reset Day” to avoid scheduling conflicts
- Set alarms at 7 PM labeled “Calendar Sync Check”
Still screwed up my mom’s birthday by three days because February ruins everything.
Unexpected Benefits Kicked In
Around month 2, something clicked. Meetings started feeling less frantic because every “month” felt equally long. Budgeting got easier splitting bills into perfect fourths. Started noticing patterns in my energy levels that got buried in 30/31-day months. Found myself actually using the “Might-Do” column for creative stuff instead of stressing about unfinished tasks.
The Weirdest Part
That “Year Day” between December Sol and January Vega? Felt like cheating time. Took the day completely offline – no schedules, no tracking. Just ate pizza and stared at clouds. Never realized how much I needed a calendar-mandated guilt-free zone until my spreadsheet literally couldn’t assign a date to it.
Am I Still Using It?
Six months later and yeah, this Frankenstein calendar owns me now. Still keep regular dates for work meetings though. Pro tips if you try this:
- Use pencil until you internalize the rhythm
- Color-code work vs personal blocks aggressively
- Put Year Day reminders EVERYWHERE
It’s not for everyone, but having 28 identical containers for life somehow makes Mondays less terrible. Would I recommend it? Only if you enjoy explaining your weird calendar at parties.
