How to create a task tracker in Excel

You can watch a video tutorial here.

The spreadsheet format of Excel lends itself to creating different types of lists. One list that is used both professionally and personally is a list of tasks. Microsoft Office provides templates that you can use or you can create your customized tracker. Using the task tracker you can define a list of tasks and then track them to completion. 

Option 1 – Create your tracker

Step 1 – Define the columns

• Define the columns by giving the column headers:
  • No.
  • Task description
  • Priority
  • Due date
  • Status

Step 2 – List the tasks

• List out the tasks to be done
• Assign a priority for each task
• Fix the due date for each task

Step 3 – Open the Data Validation box

• Select the cells in the ‘Status’ column
• Go to Data > Data Tools
• Expand the Data Validation menu
• Select Data Validation

Step 4 – Create the list

• Select the Settings tab
• Under Allow: select ‘List’
• Enter the values for Source: Not Started,In Progress,Completed
• Click OK

Step 5 – Select the values for the ‘Status’ column

• For each task, select a value from the dropdown for the ‘Status’ column

Option 2 – Use a template

Step 1 – Find the template

• Go to https://templates.office.com/
• Type ‘task tracker’ in the Search box
• Press Enter

Step 2 – Choose a template

• Select the ‘Track My Tasks’ template

Step 3 – Download the template

• Click Download
• After the file has been downloaded, click on the up arrow to expand the menu
• Click Open

Step 4 – Enable the file for editing

• Click the Enable Editing button to use the sheet

Step 5 – Use the tracker

• Follow the instructions to use the tracker