How to plan a weekday content calendar in a spreadsheet

Start with the reader, not the date

Before you fill in a single row, write down who the site is for and the questions that person asks. Topics that come from real questions are easier to write and more useful to read than topics chosen to fill a slot.

The columns

One row per post is the simplest structure. These columns cover most needs.

• Date: the planned publish date. Use weekdays only if that is your schedule.
• Topic: a short phrase for what the post is about.
• Reader question: the specific question the post answers.
• Working title: a draft headline you can change later.
• Angle: what makes this post different from what is already out there.
• Sources: the pages or experience you will rely on for facts.
• Status: idea, drafted, reviewed, scheduled or published.
• Link: the live URL once the post is published.
• Notes: anything to remember, such as related posts to link to.

Keep a buffer

Plan at least a week ahead of what you have written. A buffer of finished, reviewed posts means a busy day or a sick day does not break the schedule. If the buffer shrinks, slow the schedule down rather than publishing rushed work.

Mix post types

Five similar posts in a row get repetitive. Alternate between how-to guides, short explainers, comparisons and answers to reader questions. Reuse the same columns for all of them.

Review before anything goes out

The status column is also your quality gate. A post should not reach scheduled without passing through reviewed. Our companion guide on reviewing AI-written content has a checklist you can use for that step.

Look back every month

Once a month, scan the sheet. Which posts did readers find useful, which were skipped, and which topics deserve a follow-up? Let that shape the next month's rows. A calendar is a living plan, not a promise to yourself.