How to create a calendar in Excel

Calendars in Excel can be very useful, especially if you have a busy schedule. A calendar designed to fit your plans can help you stay organized when it comes to important appointments, events, activities, and meetings.

Whether you need better organization for school or work, an Excel calendar can be a fantastic tool to help you stay on track with current and upcoming projects.

Of course, all of this is possible if you know how to properly create a calendar in Excel. This article will show you how to do just that.

How to Create a Calendar in Excel with a Template

The easiest way to start using an Excel calendar is to download one of the templates from Microsoft's official website. You can browse yearly or monthly calendars, which can be set for a specific year or used repeatedly for each year.

Some site calendars can be customized, which is particularly useful.

However, you don't need to visit the Microsoft site to get calendar templates. You may find some available directly from Excel. Here's how to access calendar templates in Excel:

1. Launch Excel and go to "File".
   
2. Click on “New”.
   
3. In the search field, type “Calendar” and press “Enter”.
   
4. You will see a list of calendars to choose from; find a template that best suits your needs and select it.
   
5. Once you've selected a template, you'll see its preview on the left side and the template's name and description on the right.
   
6. Click "Create" under the template description.
   

By following these steps, you will create a new calendar from an existing template. Depending on the type of calendar you have chosen and its unique features, you will have certain customization options available.

However, if you want to have full control over your calendar, you can create it from scratch without using a template.

The next section will show you how to do just that.

How to Create a Calendar in Excel Without a Template

You will find that creating a calendar in Excel is quite simple, even if you are working without a template. Follow these instructions to quickly create a custom calendar.

First step: enter the days of the week.

1. Once you launch Excel, you will see a spreadsheet; leave line 1 empty.
   
2. In row 2, enter the days of the week in each cell: Monday in A2, Tuesday in B2, and so on.
   
3. Alternatively, you can use Excel's automation to fill in the days of the week. Simply enter "Monday" in cell A2 and drag that cell's fill handle to cell G2.
   
4. Whichever method you used, you should have all days of the week in cells A2-G2.

Second step: format the columns.

1. Highlight cells A2-G2 and go to the "Home" tab.
   
2. Under "Cells", choose "Format".
   
3. Under "Column width," enter the desired width for the cells.
   

Third step: create a month title.

1. In row 1, select any cell and type “=TODAY()” in the formula field. This will display the current date in the selected cell.
   
2. With the cell with the dates selected, go to the "Home" tab.
   
3. Under “Number”, choose “Date”, then click on “More number formats”.
   
4. Choose a date format from the list and click “OK”.
   
5. Select cells A1-G1 and choose the "Merge and Center" option from the "Alignment" menu. This will create a month title.
   

Fourth step: create the body of the calendar.

1. Highlight the whole worksheet.
   
2. Go to "Home" and click on the paint bucket.
   
3. Select white or any other color to set the calendar background.
   
4. Highlight cells A3-A7.
   
5. Under "Home", bring up the "Borders" menu.
   
6. Click on “Outside the borders”.
   
7. You will see an area described under “Monday”. Copy and paste it below the rest of the days of the week.
   
8. After the first row of boxes is complete, create four more rows. Once you've done that, the cell in the lower right corner should be G27.
   
9. Highlight the row of days of the week and select "All Borders" from the "Borders" menu to complete the grid.
   

Step five: add dates.

1. Find the days that will be the 1st and 2nd of the month.
   
2. Enter "1" in the first cell of the corresponding day of the week box and "2" for the next day.
   
3. While holding down the "Shift" key, highlight the numbered cells.
   
4. Drag the selection box to the end of the week to allow Excel to fill in the numbers automatically.
   
5. Repeat the process for the rest of the table. You will need to manually enter the dates for the first two days of each week.

Step 6: Once you have created the sheet following these instructions, create 12 sheets in total for each month of the year.

If you want, you can customize cells and dates with different colors and styles.

How to Create a Calendar in Excel that Updates Automatically

Automation is one of Excel's greatest strengths. If you want your calendar to update automatically, you can use the following formula: “=MONTH (TODAY() , – 1) +1”.

This formula uses the "TODAY" function to find the current date and calculates the first day of the month via the "MONTH" function.

You can easily create calendars for different months from the start sheet if you use this formula and enter a different date instead of "TODAY()".

How to create a calendar in Excel without weekends

If you use the method of creating a calendar in Excel without a template, creating a calendar without weekends will be relatively easy.

All you have to do is create a calendar following the steps in this article, select the weekend days, and delete all rows below it.

This way, you'll end up with a five-day weekly schedule that doesn't include weekends.

Organize yourself better with Excel calendars

Excel offers a number of customization options and powerful formulas that you can use to automate calculations and organize cell contents.

Now that you've learned how to create a calendar in Excel, with and without a template, you can start entering data and taking advantage of automation options to organize your weekly schedule. As you master the different possibilities offered by Excel, your weekly and monthly organization will become clearer.

Did you manage to create a calendar in Excel? Did you do it with or without a model?

Let us know in the comment section below.