Be careful when setting dates for milestones or deadlines, especially at the end of the month. Several times I have seen things listed as being due on April 31, June 31, or November 31. These dates do not exist, because there are only 30 days in those months.
As much as I like to stretch deadlines, I would certainly insist that April 31 must mean May 1. And I would also insist that I had until 11:59:59 pm on May 1 to get my report emailed and still have it listed as “deadline met.”
So let me share a couple of little tricks for remembering how many days are in each month. I want you to use one of these methods when setting month-end deadlines and milestones so I don’t have to edit February 30 ever again.
Method #1: The Poem
“Thirty days have September,
April, June, and November.
All the rest have thirty-one.
February stands alone.”
Method #2: Two Fists
Make two fists, put them next to each other (hiding your thumbs), and look at your knuckles. Start at the left pinky knuckle, and say the names of the months on both the hills and the valleys of your knuckles. When you finish one hand, jump across and start at the pointer knuckle of your right hand,
continuing to name the months, like this:
The hills are all 31 days, the valleys are all 30 days except for February. February is usually 28 days except for Leap Year, which is a year divisible by 4. Leap years have 29 days. Next year will be a leap year, so make sure you set Feb. 29 as the deadline for anything that needs to be done by the end of Feb. 2012.
December 11, 2015 at 3:53 pm |
This is awesome thanks! (4.5 years late)