Calendar

The puzzles for this 'Calendar' edition of Albcell were created and compiled in record time, and completely out of order. The first, the 'Calendar' anagram - the only one designed last year - was created at some point in June, while I was on vacation in Albania. While I was there I also experimented with the skeleton, the bare bones, of the project, to see if I had enough material to actually make a book out of it. I did this by writing a series of bullet points for all the puzzles - then, as soon as this initial sketch was completed, the idea was filed away in some deep subconscious part of my brain. 

Then, right after December 2024 - when, according to the plan, I was supposed to be focusing completely on a different project - 'Calendar' stepped out of the shadows and signaled to me that the time to pursue this topic was once again favorable!

Being, among other things, a poet, I know first-hand how important it is to bow to the creative impulse and disregard pre-planning when necessary. Therefore, while laughing inwardly at my inability to follow the rationality of my premeditated schedule, I started throwing in possible anagram 'long shots' - the sort of thing where if I'd had the slightest issue with them, I'd have had to discard an entire topic and lose a ton of time. In a way, this was my way of testing that peculiar feeling I was getting that the time was truly right and I wasn't procrastinating in vain. Sure enough, things kept happening, and luck (for want of a better word) was on my side. So in no time I was able to breeze through a series of head-scratching challenges, racing daily toward the completion of a rather tricky project.  

What makes this book different from the rest is the order in which the puzzles were done. I was pressed for time the whole time, as I already mentioned, and I had many other upcoming books that needed my attention. So I had to muster up an unprecedented and unusual dose of self-discipline, to develop the clear-cut approach that was so vital this time around to ensure I used every minute to maximum effect, while also avoiding that feeling of 'burnout' that, let's face it, can be rather counterproductive.

"Make a date with the latest Albcell!

This new edition is all about those important days of the year...

Give your brain a daily workout with two puzzles in one: a classic Albcell number puzzle and an anagram.

And for the first time, Albcell comes to you in a large format book, to give you more easy-to-read puzzles and more space to play in!"