# Editorial Calendar Planner

Coordinate useful publishing work by recording each item's reader outcome, owner, evidence, dependencies, review gates, release date, and maintenance trigger.

## Usage note

Use this calendar to make publishing commitments visible, not to fill dates with speculative volume. Add an item only when its reader outcome, accountable owner, and next decision are clear enough for the team to act.

## How to use this template

1. Define the period, editorial goals, capacity, and non-negotiable release dates.
2. Add each content item with one reader outcome, a brief, and an accountable owner.
3. Map evidence, production, approval, technical, and localization dependencies backward from release.
4. Review status and date confidence weekly, recording decisions and escalation owners.
5. Close published items with their live URL, measurement checkpoint, and maintenance trigger.

## Blank template

### Calendar setup

- **Planning period:** [Enter start and end dates]
- **Editorial goals:** [List the outcomes this period must support]
- **Available capacity:** [Record people, specialist time, and constraints]
- **Fixed events:** [List launches, seasons, deadlines, or campaigns]
- **Weekly review owner:** [Name the person who maintains the calendar]
- **Status vocabulary:** [Idea / Briefed / Drafting / Review / Scheduled / Published / Paused]

### Content item

Duplicate this section for every planned item.

- **Working title:** [Enter a descriptive title]
- **Reader situation:** [Who needs this and when?]
- **Desired reader outcome:** [What should the reader understand or do?]
- **Content type and channel:** [Guide / Help / Research / Email / Social / Other]
- **Brief or source record:** [Add the internal reference]
- **Accountable owner:** [One person]
- **Contributors:** [Writers, experts, designers, translators]
- **Priority rationale:** [Why this item, why now?]
- **Proposed publication date:** [YYYY-MM-DD]
- **Date confidence:** [High / Medium / Low]

### Dependencies and gates

- **Evidence required:** [List source material and owner]
- **Product or subject review:** [Owner and due date]
- **Editorial review:** [Owner and due date]
- **Legal, policy, or privacy review:** [Required / Not required / Owner]
- **Design and media:** [Asset, alt text, owner, due date]
- **Technical publishing work:** [Schema, redirects, forms, analytics, other]
- **Localization:** [Locales, source-lock date, review owners]
- [ ] The draft satisfies the agreed reader outcome.
- [ ] Material claims have current, relevant evidence.
- [ ] Required reviewers approved the same final version.
- [ ] Links, assets, metadata, and responsive display were checked.

### Weekly decision and closeout

- **Current status:** [Choose the agreed status]
- **Next action:** [One observable action]
- **Next action owner and due date:** [Name and date]
- **Blocker:** [Describe or write None]
- **Decision this week:** [Keep / Rescope / Resequence / Move / Pause / Cancel]
- **Decision reason:** [Record the evidence or constraint]
- **Live URL and actual publication date:** [Complete after release]
- **First performance review:** [Date and responsible owner]
- **Maintenance trigger:** [Product change, evidence expiry, scheduled review, other]