Fall in Love with Spreadsheets: Checkboxes, Color Coding, and the Joy of Letting the Spreadsheet Think for You

If you’ve made it this far in the series, congratulations, you’re officially past the scary part.

✅You understand rows.
✅You understand columns.
✅You’ve typed information into cells and nothing bad happened.

Now we get to the part where spreadsheets stop being “organized” and start being supportive.
Enter: checkboxes and color-coding.

Why Teachers Love Checkboxes (It’s Not Just You)

There’s something deeply satisfying about clicking a checkbox.
It’s not productivity hype, it’s clarity.
Checkboxes:

• Reduce decision fatigue
• Show progress at a glance
• Turn “I still need to do this” into “this is done”

For teachers who hold a hundred unfinished thoughts at once, that visual closure matters.

What Checkboxes Are (In Plain Language)

A checkbox is just a clickable box inside a cell. When it’s checked:

• The task is done
• The student was contacted
• The thing no longer needs your mental energy

That’s it.
You don’t need formulas to use them. You don’t need to understand how they work. You just click.

Color Coding: Let Your Eyes Do the Work

This is where spreadsheets really start pulling their weight. Color-coding lets you:

• Spot overdue tasks instantly
• See what’s coming up soon
• Visually ignore what’s already done

Instead of reading every row, your eyes scan for color. And for tired teacher brains? That’s a gift.

A Simple, Teacher-Friendly Color System

You don’t need rainbow chaos. You need a few calm, consistent signals. Here’s a system that works beautifully:

• Green → Done
• Yellow → Due soon
• Red → Overdue

That’s it. Three colors. No overwhelm. Your spreadsheet becomes a quiet assistant, not a loud alarm. It's something you can open up everyday and see what needs to be done. 

Why This Matters More Than You Think

When your spreadsheet shows you:

• What’s done
• What needs attention
• What can wait

Your brain stops doing that work on its own. This isn’t about being more productive but rather about reducing mental load. And that’s something teachers deserve.

Start Small (Always)

You don’t need to:

• Add checkboxes to every tab
• Color-code your entire life
• Perfect this in one sitting

Start with:

• One column
• One checkbox
• One color rule

That’s enough to feel the difference.

Try It Yourself

To make this easy, I’ve made a simple recording of how to add checkboxes, and how to color code cells. 

I've even made a sample spreadsheet in Google Sheets for you to start playing around with. You don’t need to set anything up.

👉 Download the updated Sample Spreadsheet below
👉 Try adding a check box
👉 Try changing a cell to a different color

Next week, we’ll talk about letting spreadsheets do the math, without turning this into a numbers class. 

Please note: I've added a Mini Lesson on how to use Conditional Formatting to change the color of a cell if a checkbox is checked. You can access that lesson here on my blog.