How to Create a To-Do List in Excel (With Checkboxes, 2026)

You can create a to-do list in Excel in about six steps: a table, native checkboxes, a status drop-down, due dates, a formatting rule and a count of open tasks. Every step in this guide works in Excel for the web, which is free with a Microsoft account.

TL;DR: Type your tasks in a table, select the first column and choose Insert > Checkbox, then add a rule that strikes through a row when its box is checked. A checked box stores TRUE, so formulas can count what is left. Native checkboxes work in Excel for the web, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android in 2026. (Microsoft guide)

Quick answer

To create a to-do list in Excel, type your tasks in a table, select the first column and choose Insert > Checkbox, then add a rule that strikes through a row when its box is checked. Native checkboxes work in Excel for the web, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android in 2026. The older Developer tab method is only needed in older versions.

Here is the finished sheet in plain text, so you know what you are building:

   A        B                     C            D          E
+--------+---------------------+------------+----------+-------------+
| Done   | Task                | Due        | Priority | Status      |
+--------+---------------------+------------+----------+-------------+
| [x]    | ~~Send invoice~~    | 2026-10-20 | 1        | Done        |
| [ ]    | Book dentist        | 2026-10-21 | 2        | Not started |
| [ ]    | Draft Q4 plan       | 2026-10-24 | 1        | In progress |
+--------+---------------------+------------+----------+-------------+
  Open tasks: 2        (=COUNTIF(Table1[Done],FALSE))

What you need before you start

The table below lists what each step uses and where it works. Every feature in the list runs in Excel for the web, so you can follow along without a paid plan.

Excel for the web is free with a Microsoft account and 5 GB of OneDrive storage, according to Microsoft's free Office page, and files must be saved in OneDrive. Microsoft 365 Personal costs $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year if you want the desktop apps.

How to create a to-do list in Excel, step by step

The six steps below build the list from a blank sheet. Each step ends with a result you can see, so you know it worked before you move on.

Step 1: Make a table for your tasks

Open a blank workbook and type five headers in row 1: Done, Task, Due, Priority and Status. Or copy the starter rows below and paste them into cell A1. The columns are separated by tabs, so Excel splits them into cells.

Done	Task	Due	Priority	Status
FALSE	Send invoice	2026-10-20	1	Not started
FALSE	Book dentist	2026-10-21	2	Not started
FALSE	Draft Q4 plan	2026-10-24	1	In progress
FALSE	Order printer ink	2026-10-27	3	Not started
FALSE	Plan team lunch	2026-10-30	2	Not started

Click any cell in the data and press Ctrl+T (Cmd+T on a Mac), or choose Insert > Table. Keep My table has headers checked. Excel names the table Table1, and every new row you type below it joins the table with the same formatting and rules.

You are done when the header row shows filter arrows and the rows have banded colors.

Step 2: Add checkboxes with Insert > Checkbox

Select the cells under Done (A2:A6), then choose Insert > Checkbox. Each cell gets a checkbox. A checked box stores TRUE and an empty box stores FALSE, which is why the starter rows already hold FALSE.

Click a box to check it, or select one or more boxes and press the Space bar. To remove checkboxes, select them and press Delete: the first press unchecks them, and a second press removes them. These facts come from Microsoft's checkbox guide and its checkbox announcement, which says the feature reached web and mobile users in January 2026.

You are done when each Done cell shows a box and the formula bar shows TRUE or FALSE as you toggle it.

Step 3: Add a Status drop-down

Select the cells under Status (E2:E6). Choose Data > Data Validation, set Allow to List, and type the options in Source, separated by commas:

Not started,In progress,Done

Click OK. Each Status cell now shows a small arrow with the three choices, so nobody types "in prog" or "done!".

You are done when you click a Status cell and a drop-down with three options opens.

Step 4: Add due dates and a priority

Select the cells under Due and choose a date format from Home > Number Format, such as Short Date. Give each task a Priority from 1 (urgent) to 3 (can wait). Then click the filter arrow on Due and choose Sort Oldest to Newest, so the next deadline sits at the top.

To sort by priority first and date second, use Data > Sort (in desktop Excel, Custom Sort) and add two levels: Priority, then Due.

You are done when the list runs from the nearest due date down, and the Due column shows real dates, not text.

Step 5: Strike through and gray out done tasks

Select the task rows (A2:E6). Choose Home > Conditional Formatting > New Rule, then pick the rule type that uses a formula, and enter:

=$A2=TRUE

Click Format and choose a gray font with strikethrough. The $ before A locks the rule to the Done column, so each row reads its own checkbox. Add a second rule to flag late work in red:

=AND($A2=FALSE,$C2<TODAY())

You are done when checking a box grays out its row, and any open task with a past due date turns red.

Step 6: Count what is left

Click a cell to the right of the table, for example G1, type Open tasks, and put this formula in G2:

=COUNTIF(Table1[Done],FALSE)

Add the share of finished work in G3 and format it as a percentage:

=COUNTIF(Table1[Done],TRUE)/ROWS(Table1[Done])

To see only open work, click the filter arrow on Done and keep only FALSE. You are done when the count drops by one each time you check a box.

Formula reference for an Excel to-do list

Six formulas cover almost every to-do list question: how many tasks are open, how many are late, what is due this week, how far along you are, and how many days a task has left. Each formula below reads the table from Step 1, so it updates the moment you check a box.

For a visual bar instead of text, select the percentage cell and choose Home > Conditional Formatting > Data Bars. To keep the checkbox values but drop the boxes, select the cells and choose Home > Clear > Clear Formats, as Microsoft's checkbox guide explains. The cells keep TRUE and FALSE.

Worked example: a Monday morning list

The list below has 5 tasks on Monday, 19 October 2026. Two are checked, and one open task was due last Friday. The formulas above return these numbers:

 DONE  TASK                DUE         DAYS LEFT
 [x]   Send invoice        2026-10-16
 [x]   Book dentist        2026-10-19
 [ ]   Renew insurance     2026-10-16  -3        <- red: late
 [ ]   Draft Q4 plan       2026-10-23   4
 [ ]   Plan team lunch     2026-10-30  11

 Open: 3    Late: 1    Due in 7 days: 1    Done: 40%
 Progress: ■■■■□□□□□□

Which to-do list layout fits your job?

The same table works for a daily list, a weekly plan, a project checklist or a team tracker. Only the extra columns change. Pick the row closest to your job, add its columns to the Step 1 table, and keep the checkbox, the formatting rule and the counts as they are.

Prefer a finished file? In Excel for Windows choose File > New, or on a Mac File > New from Template, then search for "to do list". Microsoft also lists free to-do list templates online. For the priority layout, our Eisenhower Matrix guide explains the urgent and important split.

How the checkbox drives the list

A checkbox in Excel is a cell value, not a drawing, so every rule and formula reads it directly. The diagram shows how one click moves through the sheet.

Make the same list in Google Sheets

Google Sheets has the same checkbox menu. Select the cells, then choose Insert > Checkbox, as Google's help page describes. A checked box stores TRUE and an empty one FALSE, so the formatting rule =$A2=TRUE and the COUNTIF formula work the same way. Use Format > Conditional formatting > Custom formula is for Step 5, and Data > Data validation for the Status drop-down.

Using Excel 2024, 2021 or older?

Microsoft lists native checkboxes for Excel for Microsoft 365 (Windows and Mac), the web and mobile. One-time-purchase versions such as Excel 2024, 2021 and 2019 are not on that list. If your Insert tab shows no Checkbox, use the form-control checkbox from the Developer tab, which Microsoft's form controls guide covers. It is a small drawing on top of the cell, so each box needs its own linked cell:

1. Turn on the Developer tab: File > Options > Customize Ribbon, then check Developer (on a Mac, Excel > Preferences > Ribbon & Toolbar).
2. Choose Developer > Insert > Check Box (Form Control), then click inside cell A2.
3. Right-click the box, choose Format Control, and set Cell link to A2.
4. Copy the cell down the column, then fix each copy's cell link to its own row.

Steps 3 to 6 above work unchanged after that, because the linked cell holds TRUE or FALSE.

When a spreadsheet to-do list stops working

A spreadsheet list works well for one person. It has no reminders, no task owners who get notified, and no phone alerts, and it gets harder to use once two people check boxes in the same file. The table below shows where the line usually falls.

The decision often comes down to two questions:

If you move, you do not have to retype anything. Save the sheet as CSV and import the CSV into Taskade, where each row becomes a task with its due date. From there you can open the same tasks as a list, a board or a calendar, and an AI agent can sort them or draft the next steps for you. Our list of the best to-do list apps compares Taskade with other task apps.

Turn the list into a live app

A to-do list can also grow into a small app. In Taskade Genesis, one prompt builds a live app with its own database, such as a team task tracker or a client to-do portal, and Taskade EVE edits it with you in chat. An AI agent can sort tasks or draft next steps, and automations with 100+ integrations send reminders or pull in new tasks from a form.

Clone the task list board or the minimalist to-do app from the Taskade App Factory, and share it with a link. The Free plan includes 3 Taskade Genesis apps, 1 AI agent and 2 members, and starts with 0 AI credits. Pro is $10 a month billed annually. Build an app from a prompt

To start from a ready list instead, open a to-do list template, browse our to-do list templates, or describe your week to the AI to-do list generator. For a deeper move from sheets to live dashboards, read how to migrate spreadsheets to AI dashboards.

Limitations of an Excel to-do list

An Excel to-do list is a good personal tool with three hard limits:

• No reminders. Excel never sends a notification when a task is due, so a red row only helps if you open the file.
• No real assignments. An Owner column holds a name, but Excel does not tell that person about the task.
• Shared files need OneDrive or SharePoint. Teammates edit together only when the file lives in Microsoft's cloud, and macros do not run in Excel for the web.

Taskade has limits too: Free covers 2 members, AI features use AI credits and Free starts with none, and Pro is $10 a month billed annually for up to 10 users. See the Taskade plans for the full table.

More guides on lists and spreadsheets

• Prioritize the list with the Eisenhower Matrix
• Build a board from the same table: how to create a kanban board in Excel
• Put the due dates on a grid: how to create a calendar in Excel
• Read the history of the to-do list and the history of spreadsheets
• Turn a task list into AI tasks that an agent can plan
• Learn why lists work in the power of checklists and plan time with the best time-blocking apps
• Learn the method behind a good list: Getting Things Done
• See every to-do view in Taskade: List view and Calendar view

Frequently asked questions