What's the practical way to create an editorial calendar?

Keep it boring and it'll actually get used. A spreadsheet with publish date, working title, target keyword, content type, owner, status, and the URL once it's live. That's it. Plan about a month ahead in detail and a quarter ahead loosely. Start from what you already know (search terms, questions customers ask, seasonal dates) instead of brainstorming from zero, and pick a cadence you can keep. Two posts every month beats eight in March and nothing until July.