I utilize Google Sheets as my to-do list.
I’ve tested a variety of applications for to-do lists–Trello, Todoist, Any.do, the list continues. The only one that hasn’t overwhelmed me or, even more than that, overpowered me was Google Tasks. This is what works for personal tasks It’s enough to remind me to wash my laundry and call my dentist or make an appointment with a vet for my pet. However, at work, it’s not going to cut it. It’s not sufficiently customizable and there’s not enough distinct fields to handle complicated tasks. Google Sheets fixes that.
It’s not designed to function as a checklist application, but that’s the reason I like it. It’s an application I already use. It’s very customizable. It requires a lot less clicks than other alternatives. Let’s face it there’s no the time to click on a million additional times. You want to finish your work rather than manage the tasks that you must complete.
Here’s how you can make use of an excel spreadsheet as your daily list.
The basics of the set-up
When you’re working on your work There are typically two crucial things to keep track of: what you need you need to accomplish and when , and then…other things. These are the three columns on your spreadsheet:
Time of day and night
Tasks
Other things: Notes/Links
You are able to modify the columns at any time or create new ones.
For instance, if I plan my week’s activities by day, perhaps you don’t make your to-do list for an agenda, therefore there wouldn’t be an entry for Day.
Maybe you’d like to add some kind of tags to your project. Simply add a column for Tag. If you’re consistently consistent with your tags, you can organize or filter the spreadsheet using the column to categorize similar tasks. If you’re not, which I am definitely not, you have the complete freedom to choose. Tags can change from each week, and serve as brief reminders of what’s currently to be done.
Sometimes it’s helpful to be aware of the length of time a project might require. It’s possible to have an Time estimate column, and add the number of hours you expect to take in it. I suggest that you use half-hour increments (i.e., .5, 1, 1.5, and so on) to ensure that you don’t end having to fight time frames. If you are doing a lot in smaller projects, you can choose to use fifteen-minute intervals (i.e., .25, .5., .75, and etc.). It is useful if you need to make sure that you’ll have enough time to complete your tasks. Mark those cells for the entire week, and make sure that they do not add up to more than 40.
It’s only a template and it’s yours to customize.
The last important element is breaking the sheet into weeks. I employ a gray solid bar that has dates at the top of the column to visually divide weeks. I usually to have around months worth of weeks to place tasks into. Also, I’ll add an area at the bottom of the page for tasks which are scheduled for later on the line: those that are “eventually” projects. So I’m still able to take a quick look to see what’s next and it helps me keep my eye on the here and right now.
The format of the Google Sheets to-do list
The benefit of the use of Google Sheets or another spreadsheet tool to keep track of your tasks is that you can use so numerous formatting options. Sometimes, I alter colors of cells in order to show that it’s important. Sometimes, I make it bold. Other times I simply write “IMPORTANT” the middle. Anything that works.
If you want to keep things constant, you can select colors that represent certain things like priority, levels of effort, kind of work, or whatever else you’d like to be able to view in one glance. For instance, I will mark a row with blue when I’ll be away from the office. This way I don’t have to over-plan the rest of the week. And I highlight a row in red if it’s a non-negotiable–something I have to do the day it’s scheduled because of an external deadline.
Additionally, since you have text formatting options, which many task lists do not–you can customize your formatting as precise that you’d want. Highlight certain types of tasks, bold others or even put borders around cells. Whatever you like visually, do it. You can also use conditional formatting to create rows that have specific words, such as when you want to highlight rows that contain names of specific individuals, such as an essential client or boss.
The process
If you use this Google work tracker template designed for Google Sheets, you’ll add tasks as they arise. Add a row, drag the task on top and then add any additional information or labels you’d like. Since moving things around can be as simple as moving a row to an alternate place, it is easy to revise your priorities without having to jump between views or clicking 12 times to get to where you’re supposed to be. In addition to adding tasks it is a simple process.
1. You should strike through the text once you’re done. Keyboard shortcuts can be used to accomplish this. For an Mac the shortcut is command+shift+X, and on an PC the shortcut is Alt+Shift+5.
2. When you’re done with the week, you can hide the rows from the previous week to ensure that your current week will always be in the top position. To accomplish this simply highlight the rows that you wish to hide, then click on the right and choose Hide rows (numbers of the selected rowsThe rows you want to hide are the numbers of selected rows.
Unsurprisingly, I utilize Zapier to streamline my to-do list. My favorite Zap (our term that describes an automation of workflows between applications) is quite simple to send every message I have saved to Slack into the Google Sheets to- do list. We are on Slack at Zapier, so the majority of my tasks originate either from it or my mind.
Save saved messages in Slack to Google Spreadsheets. Google Spreadsheet
Sheets + Slack from Google Sheets + Slack
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I will send an email to the Task column, and then add it also adds the URL into the Slack thread is added to note/links in that column. This way I can look back on the thread for more details as I get ready to finish the task. I also have particular Zaps in place for some of my workflows that I use regularly.
If you are a user of email you could implement the same method: for instance, you can send all emails with a particular name into your Excel spreadsheet.
Save all new Gmail emails that match certain characteristics to an Google Spreadsheet
Google Sheets and Gmail Google Sheets
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Zapier is an automated, no-code tool that lets you join your apps to automated workflows, so that each individual and company can grow with rapid growth.
FAQs
I’m often asked queries about the system, and at times it’s just “nope you can’t do this.” My version is straightforward and there are plenty of ways to complicate — or enhance the system. This is why I’ve included a couple of questions to help you determine whether you think the Google Sheets to-do list might be a good fit for your needs.
Why not use google Docs task list?
If Google Docs works for you Use it. It’s for me, too flexible. However, there are plenty of fantastic Google Docs to-do-list templates that you can choose from.
Doesn’t it get cluttered?
If you keep your work from the previous week you can usually manage it. However, if you’re concerned that the “eventually” segment is becoming lengthy or there’s a whole group of things which don’t quite work, you could include an additional worksheet. As an example, I’ve created an exercise for To read in order to keep a list of work-related reading. I can go to this worksheet to look up an article when I need an opportunity to unwind.
It is possible to automate that read-it-later sheet by sending every the latest Pocket article to it.
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