As I’ve written before, I love week dates, and I’ve started using them for all of my personal organization.

Of course, since I’m pretty much the only one using the system, it can be difficult to find products that are designed to work for me, so I end up building my own. Ever since realizing that the number of cards in a deck matches the number of weeks in a year, I’ve been planning an analog calendar built purely with an ordinary deck of cards.

a note on suit order

Before I jump in, I do want to make a quick note about how I order the suits of cards; for this calendar, I’m using English alphabetical order, with clubs (first in alphabetical order) as lowest and spades (last in alphabetical order) as highest: ♣♦♥♠

This is the most common ordering in Western card games I’ve seen. I’ve also played games using an order more common in East Asia, which swaps the hearts and diamonds: ♣♥♦♠

The English alphabetical suit order is easiest to explain and remember, though, so it’s what I’m using.

the system

Each suit represents one quarter of the year:

• ♣ - Quarter 1, weeks 1-13
• ♦ - Quarter 2, weeks 14-26
• ♥ - Quarter 3, weeks 27-39
• ♠ - Quarter 4, weeks 40-52

Within each suit, the number (with Ace representing 1 through King as 13) represents the week number within that quarter. For example, this week is number 45 on the ISO calendar, which is the sixth week of quarter four, represented by the six of spades.

The current week, on my calendar.

The rare 53rd week (ISO week dates use a leap week calendar system) will be represented by a joker 🃏.

This calendar currently only represents the week number, not the day of the week. I haven’t decided whether to include the day, yet.

creating the physical calendar

The actual physical calendar, in its simplest form, is simply a deck of cards. Sort it from low to high, beginning with the Ace of Clubs and ending with the King of Spades and a joker. Place this deck face down.

Each week, turn over one card and place it face up in a pile next to the deck. (If you’re not starting in week one, skip to the current week’s card.) Done right, at the end of the year you can simply flip the exhausted deck back over to reset the calendar.

One of my favorite elements of this calendar is the very clear physical representation of how far we are through the year. Take a look; we’re near the end of the year, so the deck has very few cards compared to the discard pile of weeks that have already passed.

Even though it’s just a deck of cards to the casual observer, the presentation clearly shows that there is more than meets the eye.

This calendar should, of course, be put in a highly visible place, but one where it’s not likely to be disturbed accidentally. This could make a great conversation piece!

possible improvements

There are two main improvements I can think of right now:

• A nicer deck of cards would be cool; right now I’m using a generic Bicycle deck. Perhaps something like LMNT’s Junior Playing Cards? Those have a lovely aesthetic to them. Really, any artisanal deck would look fabulous.
• Some sort of enclosure would be very cool. Something 3D-printed is the obvious solution; I’ll have to think about an ideal design. This could keep things in place while raising the professional look of the setup from two piles of cards.

Any other thoughts or recommendations are very welcome.

closing thoughts

It’s simple, but I really like this. There’s something very aesthetically-pleasing about this, both visually and functionally. (I see aesthetics as encompassing far more than just looks.)

I’m going to continue mulling over this; there is definitely a lot of room for improvement.