What you will build

Build a small content calendar with Content ID, title, channel, publish date, and status, then use COUNTIF to count items currently marked Scheduled.

Prepare the sample data

Open the practice workbook or make a copy. Make sure A1:E4 matches the sample below; Publish date should contain valid dates, and Status should consistently use Draft, Review, Scheduled, or Published.

HANDS-ON PRACTICE

Practice in your own copy

Make your own Google Sheets copy with the same data, formulas, formatting, filter and frozen header. The original remains unchanged.

Make a Google Sheets copy (access required) ↗View original

Sign in to Google. If the original is not publicly shared, download the full workbook and import it into Google Sheets, or paste the example data into your own sheet.

Verified source content-calendar table in Google Sheets with data in A1:E4.

Open the practice workbook in Google Sheets ↗

Count scheduled content

Step 1: Enter Scheduled count in H1. In H2, enter the formula below.

=COUNTIF(E2:E4,"Scheduled")
Cell H2 selected in Google Sheets, showing the COUNTIF formula and result 1.

Test a changed status

Step 2: Temporarily change E3 from Review to Scheduled. H2 should increase from 1 to 2. After verifying that change, restore E3 to Review; H2 should return to 1.

Checkpoint

Content IDTitleChannelPublish dateStatus
C01Getting startedBlog2026-10-01Draft
C02SUM basicsEmail2026-10-03Review
C03Budget tutorialBlog2026-10-05Scheduled

With the table restored to the sample state, H2 should equal 1. If E3 is temporarily changed to Scheduled, H2 should equal 2.

Common mistakes and fixes

If the dates display unexpectedly, confirm that D2:D4 were entered as dates rather than plain text strings.

Independent practice

Add a fourth content item, choose one of the four standard statuses, and watch Scheduled count change as you move the new row into or out of Scheduled.

Key takeaways

  • ✓Each content item uses one row with a unique Content ID, channel, date, and status.
  • ✓Status labels must stay consistent for reliable counting.
  • ✓COUNTIF(E2:E4,"Scheduled") directly counts Scheduled items.
  • ✓With the sample data, the correct H2 result is 1.
  • ✓Changing E3 to Scheduled and restoring Review confirms the formula responds correctly.
QUICK CHECK

Check your understanding

Answer four questions about the practice sheet.

1. What does =COUNTIF(E2:E4,"Scheduled") count?
2. With the sample data, what should H2 return?
3. If E3 changes from Review to Scheduled, what should H2 become?
4. After the changed-input test, what should you do?

Continue learning

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