Pariksha SaathiScheduling Puzzle: Month & Date
This is the Scheduling Puzzle method with a second attribute added — each person now has both a month AND a date to pin down, so every clue needs to be sorted into which attribute it actually fixes. Here’s the approach, one shared puzzle with six fully worked questions, and a few more to try yourself.
Written by Mahesh Srivastava, Founder of Pariksha Saathi. Published: 2026-10-05. Editorial standards & corrections
The approach, quickly
- Keep two separate tracks — one for months, one for dates — and sort each clue into the track it actually constrains before trying to place anyone.
- Resolve the month track first if enough direct clues exist to fully fix it — a completely solved month track often turns an indirect date clue ("the person in January...") into a direct one instantly.
- A clue like "the person born in March" only becomes usable once you know who that is — revisit indirect clues after finishing the track they depend on, rather than trying to use them immediately.
- Fill in whatever is forced directly first in both tracks; the single remaining option in each track is then fixed by elimination, exactly as in a one-attribute Scheduling Puzzle.
- Once both tracks are solved, questions can mix the two attributes freely ("who is immediately after X by month" or "how many people come before Y by date") — answer these by reading positions off whichever single track the question actually asks about.
Worked examples
1. Five people — A, B, C, D and E — visit a doctor in five different months (January, March, May, July, September) on five different dates (5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th), one person per month and one per date. A visits in May. C visits in the month immediately after A. E visits in September. B visits in January. E visits on the 5th. A visits on the 10th. The person who visits in January visits on the 20th. The person who visits in March visits on the 15th. Who visits in January?
Solution
- Months: A = May. C is immediately after May, so C = July. E = September. B = January (given directly). The only month left, March, goes to D.
- Dates: E = 5th, A = 10th (given directly). The January person (B) visits on the 20th, so B = 20th. The March person (D) visits on the 15th, so D = 15th. The only date left, 25th, goes to C.
- Full arrangement — A: May/10th, B: January/20th, C: July/25th, D: March/15th, E: September/5th.
Answer: B
2. Using the same puzzle and clues, on which date does A visit?
Solution
- From the full arrangement, A visits on the 10th.
Answer: 10th
3. Using the same puzzle and clues, on which date does C visit?
Solution
- From the full arrangement, C visits on the 25th.
Answer: 25th
4. Using the same puzzle and clues, who visits in March?
Solution
- From the full arrangement, D visits in March.
Answer: D
5. Using the same puzzle and clues, who visits immediately after A, in month order?
Solution
- The month order is January, March, May, July, September. A visits in May; the month immediately after May is July, which is C.
Answer: C
6. Using the same puzzle and clues, how many people visit before D, in month order?
Solution
- The month order with people is: January (B), March (D), May (A), July (C), September (E). Only one person, B, visits before D.
Answer: 1
Try these yourself
Using the same puzzle and clues above, answer these, then check against the answer.
1. Using the same puzzle and clues, who visits in September?
Answer: E
2. Using the same puzzle and clues, on which date does E visit?
Answer: 5th
3. Using the same puzzle and clues, which month does the person who visits on the 20th visit in?
Answer: January
4. Using the same puzzle and clues, on which date does D visit?
Answer: 15th
5. Using the same puzzle and clues, who visits immediately before E, in month order?
Answer: C
All 11 practice questions on Scheduling Puzzle: Month and Date, with answers →
Where this comes up
Scheduling Puzzles with two attributes (Month and Date) are a regular Reasoning topic in exams Pariksha Saathi covers — SSC CGL, SSC MTS, SSC CHSL, IBPS PO, IBPS Clerk, SBI PO and SBI Clerk — a two-track extension of the single-attribute Scheduling Puzzle.
Keep practising
Solve the questions above before opening the answers. Explain each step in your own words, then revisit any mistakes.
Go to practice questions →