An Assignment Tracker You’ll Actually Use | Google Sheets & Forms

Learn to create an efficient assignment tracker using Google Forms for quick data entry and Google Sheets for organized, formatted data and task management.

• Build a Google Form for easy assignment entry to feed data into your tracker.

• Utilize Google Sheets for powerful formatting, including conditional strike-throughs for completed tasks and visual alerts for upcoming deadlines.

• Add the form to your mobile device's home screen for instant access and effortless assignment management.

This tutorial demonstrates how to build a Google Sheets assignment tracker, beginning with a Google Form for streamlined assignment input. Key features include customizing assignment details, status, classes, and due dates, along with integrating difficulty ratings and notes. The system allows for immediate data entry from any device and offers advanced formatting in Sheets, such as conditional formatting for task completion and due date alerts.

Creating the Google Form

• 00:00:15 To begin, a Google Form is created to easily input assignment details, serving as the data entry point for the tracker. Questions are added for 'Assignment' (short answer), 'Status' (dropdown with options like 'Not started', 'In progress', 'Need help', 'Completed'), 'Class' (dropdown), 'Due Date' (automatically set as date), 'Priority' (dropdown: 'high', 'low'), 'Difficulty' (rating scale), and 'Notes' (paragraph text). This structure ensures comprehensive data capture for each assignment.

Linking Form to Google Sheets

• 00:02:26 After the form is designed, it is linked to a new Google Sheet, which automatically becomes the repository for all form responses, with each question mapping to a column. Initial data is submitted via the form to populate the sheet, demonstrating how entries appear. For personal use, it's recommended to set the form's access to 'only you' before publishing to maintain data privacy and control.

Formatting and Enhancing the Sheet

• 00:05:16 The Google Sheet is then formatted to improve usability, including hiding the unnecessary 'Timestamp' column and bolding important text. Column types are edited to match the form's dropdowns for 'Status', 'Class', and 'Priority', and a rating smart chip is applied to 'Difficulty'. A 'Done' checkbox column is added with conditional formatting, which strikes through and grays out an assignment's row once checked, visually indicating completion. An additional 'Due Soon' column is introduced, using a formula to display a fire emoji from a separate 'icons' sheet if an assignment's due date is within the next seven days.

Mobile Access and Home Screen Integration

• 00:11:49 To ensure the assignment tracker is consistently used, the Google Form is optimized for mobile access by adding it as a web app icon directly to an iPhone's home screen. This provides quick, one-tap access to the form, allowing users to rapidly input new assignments or update existing ones, making the system highly convenient and readily available wherever the user is.