Readers: What better way to prepare for the New Year than to purchase a calendar?

(Well, I’m sure there are other better, or at least more exciting ways to ring in a new year, but this week I want to talk about calendars; please indulge me.)

I bought a 2026 calendar at Michaels this week, alongside a daily planner for my everyday use. My love of calendars seems to be hereditary; at Sunday Mass my mom was the first person in line at the church annex to pick up a complimentary 2026 calendar with pictures of saints for each month.

And my dad, hampered by his unwillingness (read: obstinacy) to actually use his reading glasses, spent his hard-earned cash on a 2025 calendar at Walmart that was on sale instead of a 2026 calendar, and so had to go back and buy the correct one. He also bought a second wall calendar for his backyard shed for good measure, even though no one beside him and the odd spider or stray cat ever resides there. But anyways, calendars are great because they help out with organization.

I’ve been reading a lot of articles online recently about folks sharing their resolutions for the New Year, and lots of them cite wanting to be more organized and focused in work, school, exercise, etc.

I definitely relate to that, and there is something to be said for having a physical calendar or planner as opposed to just using some app on your phone.

At work, for example, I have greatly benefitted from a 12-month wall calendar gifted to me by Clyburn Bindery Services, a bindery based out of Ashburn, Georgia who works with our newspapers. My favorite thing to do with a calendar is mark off each day as they pass, a habit my co-worker Mark finds unusual. Apparently he doesn’t mark his calendars at all, he said. That’s just plain weird, in my opinion–how else are you supposed to keep track of what day it is? I can’t just guesstimate by looking at a plain calendar; I need to mark off the days with a pen or highlighter or something. Plus, I like to write little reminders and notes in the boxes, like trash for taking out the trash or drawing a cake for someone’s birthday.

Mark’s admission reminded me of when I was in middle school and a classmate of mine, Kathryn, said she never used bookmarks while reading books to keep track of what page she’s on. And she didn’t dog-ear the page, either; she claimed to just remember what page she stopped at and could continue from there. People like Mark and Kathryn would put Barnes & Noble out of business and vex me forever in the process.

Anyways, back to organization– something I need to work on, as evidenced by my wonky segues in my columns. For 2026, I anticipate some new (and exciting!) changes here at the Bryan County News, so keep your eyes peeled and stay tuned! I’ll see you all next year (read: next week!).

Andrea Gutierrez is the managing editor of the Bryan County News.