When it’s way past your work time, you think about that to-do list (stare at it if you have it written) and curse the world for not having enough time in the day. Sounds familiar? If you are nodding your heading in agreement, you – my friend, are suffering from an acute condition of expanding-to-do-list. Well, I am neither a brain doctor nor a self-help guru. I can not help you in overcoming procrastination and getting your work done. BUT… I can give you an Excel To Do List template that can handle your ever-expanding list (you will still have to make one and do all the work). Jokes aside, I do believe it is helpful when you maintain a to-do list. I create one every morning, and on some lucky days, I also get the pleasure of checking off most (if not all) the items.
Excel To Do List Templates (Free Download)
Here are the four Excel To Do List templates you can download:
Excel To Do List Template #1 – Printable To Do List
This one is for people like me. I like to print my to-do list and stick it right in front of my eyes and then work on the items on the list. Here is a simple Excel template where you can fill the tasks and take a print-out. If you prefer writing the tasks yourselves, simply print it first and then fill in the tasks. There is a separate column to mention date and comments (if any). If you don’t need it, delete these columns before printing. Download simple printable to-do list template
Excel To Do List Template #2 – With Drop Down List
If you prefer making and maintaining the To Do list in Excel itself, you are in for a treat. Here is an Excel To Do List template where you can:
Enter key tasks to be completed. Assign priority to the tasks (High, Medium, Low). Mark a task as completed by selecting it from the drop-down list. As soon as you mark the task as completed: The task gets crossed off (strike-through format is applied). The row automatically gets shaded in green color. The progress bar changes to show the % of tasks completed (based on the priority).
Additional Notes:
The weights are given as follows (in the pic below). If you want to change the weights, you can easily do it by changing these values. In the download file, columns G to J are hidden. Unhide it to change the weights. To calculate progress using the progress bar, we calculate: Total Score: Add all the weights for all the activities. For example, if there are 2 high priority tasks and 1 medium priority task, and 1 low priority task, the total score would be 14 (5+5+3+1). Completed Score: Here we add all the weights for all the activities that are completed. For example, if out of 4 activities, 1 high priority activity has been completed, then the Completed Score would be 5. % Completed: The value when we divide Completed Score with Total Score. For example, in the above case, it would be 35.7% (5/14).
Download to-do list with drop-downs
Excel To Do List Template #3 – With Check Boxes
This template is exactly like the one with drop downs, with a minor difference – it has checkboxes instead of the drop-down. You can mark the task as complete by checking the checkbox. If not checked, it is considered incomplete. Here is how you can use this Excel To Do List Template:
Enter key tasks to be completed. Assign priority to the tasks (High, Medium, Low). Mark a task as completed by checking the checkbox. As soon as you check the box for a task: The task gets crossed off (strike-through). The row automatically gets shaded in green color. The progress bar changes to show the % of tasks completed (based on the priority).
NOTE: Be careful while adding deleting rows. Deleting a row does not delete the checkbox. Download to-do list template with checkboxes
Excel To Do List Template #4 – Double-click Enabled
I find this version of the template the best of all. It uses a small VBA code to enable the double click event where you can mark a task as completed by simply double-clicking on it. As soon as you double click on the cell, it automatically inserts a checkmark in that cell. NOTE: Since this contains a VBA code, it should be saved in .XLS or .XLSM format. Here is how you can use this Excel To-do List Template:
Enter key tasks to be completed. Assign priority to the tasks (High, Medium, Low). Mark a task as completed by checking the checkbox. As soon as you check the box for a task: The task gets crossed off (strike-through). The row automatically gets shaded in green color. The progress bar changes to show the % of tasks completed (based on the priority).
Download Excel Template To Do List #4 – Double Click Enabled NOTE: Since this template contains a VBA code, when you open it, Excel will show a prompt to enable content. You need to enable it for this to work.
So here are 4 Excel To-do list templates that I find useful and often use while planning my work.
Common Use Cases of Using these To-do list templates
While I have shown you the example of common daily tasks, you can use these to-do list templates in many different ways. Here are some use cases that come to my mind: What goes into making the Excel TO DO List template? There is no rocket science at play here. Simple Excel techniques come together to make it happen. Here are the components that make these templates:
Conditional formatting (to highlight a row in green when a task is marked as completed). Strikethrough Format (appears when a task is marked as completed). Excel Drop-down Lists (to show the status in the drop-down). Check Boxes (to mark a task as complete by checking it). VBA (to enable double click event). Excel Charting (to create the progress bar).
I hope these templates will help you become more productive and save some time. I am sure you also have tons of To-do list success/failure stories and I would love to hear it. I am waiting in the comment section 🙂 Other Excel Templates You Might Like:
To Do List template Integrated with Calendar in Excel Task Prioritization Matrix Template in Excel Shared Expense Calculator in Excel Employee Timesheet Calculator Vacation Itinerary and Packing List Template How to Make an Interactive Calendar in Excel?
Regards I am no good with excel but I have thought of an idea. It would be good to have a deadline column and then depending on how far the deadline is from the current date, excel works out the priority. For e.g. maybe have a priority bar that changes colour – blue yellow orange then red. For those tasks that have no deadline also have that option and it will always stay low priority for e.g. stay blue. I don’t know if this is possible to do but this is definitely something I would benefit from and so maybe others too. This is probably just something that bugs me: the fact that when it is completed it is still on the to do list which isn’t necessary and blocks the view of what you need to do next, but then the % bar wouldn’t work which I think is really cool. Maybe there could be a running total of tasks completed (but these will be removed off the to do list) and tasks left undone and a % based on that? I know it will then never be 100% if you keep adding to the list but thats more like reality you will always have tasks to do. Thanks again for the template I will be using this one for now until I master coding so I can create sheets like this myself. Kind regards, F I am no good with excel but I have thought of an idea. It would be good to have a deadline column and then depending on how far the deadline is from the current date, excel works out the priority. For e.g. maybe have a priority bar that changes colour – blue yellow orange then red. For those tasks that have no deadline also have that option and it will always stay low priority for e.g. stay blue. I don’t know if this is possible to do but this is definitely something I would benefit from and so maybe others too. This is probably just something that bugs me: the fact that when it is completed it is still on the to do list which isn’t necessary and blocks the view of what you need to do next, but then the % bar wouldn’t work which I think is really cool. Maybe there could be a running total of tasks completed (but these will be removed off the to do list) and tasks left undone and a % based on that? I know it will then never be 100% if you keep adding to the list but thats more like reality you will always have tasks to do. Thanks again for the template I will be using this one for now until I master coding so I can create sheets like this myself. Kind regards, F The next key step is to take this sorted listing and add a numerical order to what I’m going to do for the day or week. (This numerical order allows for some judgement between what is important and urgent.) This is what I’ve been doing daily on paper for years…. It’s time to join the computer world. One challenge in using this system Is the archiving of yesterday’s or last weeks to-do list, so one can look at past records as a time log to see when a task was performed. One perifierial suggestion… I read you check off completed tasks daily. Me to…. very fulfilling. In fact, I MUST do so in RED ink, which adds to my satisfaction! Should be easy to change in excel, right? Thanks …. I look forward to your reply! Bil https://www.dropbox.com/s/vnokxqp5ssgvmes/Excel-To-Do-List-Template-Double-Click_100%20Activities.xlsm?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/vnokxqp5ssgvmes/Excel-To-Do-List-Template-Double-Click_100%20Activities.xlsm?dl=0 Keep it up and keep share these kinds of tricks………..
