What you will build

Plan a team week using clear owners, due dates and completion states. This lesson uses fictional sample data so you can reproduce each action.

Learning objective

Complete the steps using the dataset below, explain why the feature or formula is used, and recognize issues when inputs change.

Prepare the sample data

Paste this example as tab-separated values beginning at A1 on a new worksheet:

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.

The Task, Owner, Due, and Status source table in the Google Sheets workbook before entering the formula.

Work through the example

Step 1: Paste the sample table at A1. Keep one task per row and verify that Task, Owner, Due, and Status match the source table.

Step 2: Enter Formula result in H1. Select H2 and enter =COUNTIF(D2:D4,"<>Done"). With the three starting statuses, H2 should return 3.

Step 3: Change D2 from Planned to Done and confirm that H2 drops from 3 to 2. Then restore D2 to Planned and confirm that H2 returns to 3.

After changing D2 to Done, H2 shows 2.
After restoring D2 to Planned, H2 returns to 3.

Formula to try

In the verified practice workbook, use H2 in the Formula result area for the formula below. Keep the source table unchanged and compare the displayed result with the checkpoint.

=COUNTIF(D2:D4,"<>Done")
Cell H2 is selected and shows 3 for the COUNTIF formula over D2:D4.

Checkpoint

TaskOwnerDueStatus
BriefAn2026-09-28Planned
DesignBinh2026-09-30Working
QAChi2026-10-02Planned

Checkpoint: keep the source table as shown; H2 should be 3 before the test, 2 while D2 is Done, and 3 again after restoring D2 to Planned.

Common mistake and correction

If H2 does not return the expected result, recheck D2:D4, the spelling of Done, and make sure the formula was entered in H2 rather than stored as plain text.

Independent practice

After completing the example, add a fourth task on row 5 with status Planned, extend the formula to =COUNTIF(D2:D5,"<>Done"), and predict the result before checking it in Sheets.

Key takeaways

  • ✓The weekly planner uses Task, Owner, Due, and Status with one task per row.
  • ✓COUNTIF(D2:D4,"<>Done") counts statuses that are not equal to Done.
  • ✓With the starting data, H2 is 3; changing D2 to Done reduces the result to 2.
  • ✓After the test, restore D2 to Planned so H2 returns to 3.
QUICK CHECK

Check your understanding

Answer four questions about the practice sheet.

1. Which formula counts unfinished tasks across the three status cells?
2. With Planned, Working, Planned in D2:D4, what should H2 show?
3. After changing D2 from Planned to Done, what should happen to H2?
4. What should you do after the changed-input test?

Continue learning

Previous lesson: Monthly budget template; Next lesson: Inventory tracker.