Find Specific Day
Find next Friday, 2nd Tuesday, or any specific day.
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Find Specific Day: The Recurrence Calculator
In a world driven by schedules, not everything happens on a fixed date. Many of life's most important events follow "floating" rules: The second Tuesday of the month, the last Friday of the quarter, or the third Sunday in June.
Navigating these rules mentally is confusing. Why count calendar squares when you can use our Specific Day Finder? This tool instantly translates rules like "3rd Thursday" into concrete dates for any year.
1. Business Logic
Recurring meetings and financial cycles rely on specific weekdays to avoid weekends.
- Payroll: Often "The last Friday of the month."
- Board Meetings: "The 2nd Tuesday of every quarter."
- Patch Tuesday: Microsoft updates on the 2nd Tuesday.
2. Holidays & Events
Many public holidays are "moveable feasts" determined by weekday positions.
- Thanksgiving (US): 4th Thursday of November.
- Mother's Day (US): 2nd Sunday of May.
- Memorial Day: Last Monday of May.
Smart Scheduling Tips
When setting up recurring events, picking the "Last Friday" is often safer than picking the "30th" of the month, because every month is guaranteed to have a last Friday, but not every month has a 30th or 31st day.
The "5th Week" Trap
Be careful when scheduling "Bi-weekly" meetings. Months with 5 weeks can de-sync schedules. Always verifying the specific date of the "1st" vs "3rd" vs "5th" occurrence helps prevent double-booking.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find 'Patch Tuesday' dates?
Patch Tuesday is always the 2nd Tuesday of the month. Select 'Tuesday' as the day, '2nd' as the occurrence, and choose your target month. Our tool will give you the exact date for software updates.
Can I find the last Friday of a month?
Yes. Select 'Friday' and choose 'Last' from the occurrence dropdown. This is extremely useful for payroll scheduling, as many companies pay employees on the final Friday of the month.
When is Thanksgiving this year?
Thanksgiving in the United States is always the 4th Thursday of November. Simply set the month to November, day to Thursday, and occurrence to '4th' to see the exact date for any year.
What if a month has 5 Fridays?
Our tool automatically calculates this based on the calendar. If you select '5th Friday' for a month that only has 4, the tool will indicate that the date does not exist (or show the first Friday of the next month, depending on settings).
Is this useful for project management?
Absolutely. Agile teams often schedule Sprint Reviews on 'every 2nd Wednesday'. This tool lets you map out those recurring dates for the entire year in seconds.
Can I find the next occurrence from today?
Yes. If you just need to know 'When is the next Friday?', use the 'Next Occurrence' mode. It will look at today's date and give you the very next matching weekday.
How are floating holidays calculated?
Floating holidays (like Memorial Day or Labor Day) are defined by rules like 'Last Monday of May' or '1st Monday of September'. This calculator is specifically designed to solve those logic problems.
Does this work for past years?
Yes, you can input any year to find historical dates. For example, you can see what date Thanksgiving fell on in 1999.
What is the 'nth day' logic?
The 'nth day' logic refers to identifying a day by its ordinal position in the month (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th). This is the standard way recurring monthly events are codified in business and law.
Is this tool free?
Yes, FreeTools Pro provides the Find Specific Day tool completely free of charge.