Week 4: Run efficient projects

Want to get more out of Google apps at work or school?  Sign up for a free G Suite trial.
" "

Screens display a spreadsheet and pie chartStay on top of your projects, manage your time efficiently, and make the most of Google Sheets and Slides.

" "


Show all instructions | Hide all instructions

1. Manage to-do lists

CheckboxOverview: Manage your to-do lists with Tasks and Keep

Manage your tasks and project lists with Google Tasks and Google Keep.

Tasks is a simple way to create personal lists of daily tasks with due dates. It integrates seamlessly with Gmail and Calendar, and syncs on all your devices.

Working with a team on a project? Use Keep collaboratively with your team, from creating shared color-coded task lists to reminders that are integrated in Gmail and Calendar.

CheckboxAccess your to-do lists

Open Tasks:

On the web

Open Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, or Slides and on the right, click Tasks Tasks.

On Android devices

  1. Tap Play Store Google Play to open Google Play.
  2. Install the Tasks app.

On Apple® iOS® devices

Install the Tasks app for Apple® iPhone® or iPad®.

Open Keep:

On the web:

In your web browser, go to keep.google.com.

On mobile devices

  1. In the Play Store (Android) or App Store (Apple® iOS®,), download and install the Keep app.
  2. Tap the Keep app on your device to open it.

Note: You can also open the companion sidebar in Gmail or Docs Editors to access Keep and Tasks.

CheckboxCreate a Keep note and see it on any device

On the web

  1. Choose an option:
    • Click Take a note and enter a note.
    • Click New List New list and add items to your list.
  2. (Optional) Add a title.
  3. Click Close.

On a mobile device

  1. Choose an option:
    • Tap Take a note and enter a note.
    • Tap New List New list and add items to your list.
  2. (Optional) Add a title.
  3. Tap BackBack to save the note or list and go back to the Notes page.

Learn more

CheckboxPin a note in Keep
You can pin important notes to the top of your Keep feed to access them quickly. 
  1. Go to keep.google.com.
  2. Hover over the note you want to pin.
  3. Click Pin note Pin.

Learn more

CheckboxOrganize Keep notes with hashtags and labels

Tag your Keep notes with a hashtag and label by using the "#" symbol then typing a label name. You can then search all relevant notes under that hashtag.

  1. Click or tap Menu Menuand thenCreate new label.
  2. Enter a label name and click or tap Done.

Tip: To create a label, type #newlabel. To apply a label, type # and then select the label you want.

Learn more

CheckboxShare a note in Keep

On the web

  1. Hover over the note or list and click Collaborator Share.
  2. Enter a person's name or email address. As you enter text, you get suggestions you can select.
  3. Next to each name, click Add collaborator Done to add the person.
  4. (Optional) To add more people, repeat steps 2–3.
  5. Click Save.

On a mobile device

  1. Tap the note or list you want to share and tap More Moreand thenCollaborator.
  2. Enter a person's name or email address. As you enter text, you get suggestions to pick from.
  3. Tap Save.

Learn more

CheckboxAdd Slides and Docs files to your Keep lists

You can quickly create Keep notes out of existing images, texts, or data. The new note will include a link back to the source document.

  1. Open a Slides or Docs file.
  2. Select and right-click an image or text.
  3. Click Save to Keep.
  4. (Optional) Edit your note or add it to a list.
  5. Click Done.

Tip: You can also add a Keep note to a document. From Docs, Sheets, or Slides, open the Keep sidebar and drag the note into your document.

CheckboxDrag an email to your Task list

You can drag an email to Tasks, and it appears as a task in a list. You can then edit the task, add details, and schedule recurring or one-time reminders.

  1. Open Gmail and drag an email into the Tasks window. The task is the email subject.
  2. In the task, a link appears so you can easily reopen the message.

Learn more

CheckboxSet recurring reminders in Tasks

You can set deadlines for Tasks and add recurring reminders. Adding a due date also adds the task to Calendar.

  1. Click Add a task, and enter a task.
  2. Click Edit Editand thenAdd date/time.
  3. Select a date and time.
  4. Click Repeat Repeat and select the recurrence for the task.
  5. Click OK.

Note: You can also set reminders in Keep.

Learn more

2. Become a spreadsheet master

CheckboxAdd checkboxes to your spreadsheets

  1. In Sheets, open a spreadsheet and select the cells where you want checkboxes.
  2. Click Insertand thenCheckbox.
  3. (Optional) To delete checkboxes, select the checkboxes you want to remove and press Delete.

Note: In formulas, unselected checkboxes have a value of FALSE (exclude) and selected checkboxes have a value of TRUE (include). You can see the value in the Formula bar. You can also change this value.

Learn more

CheckboxCreate graphs and charts from your data
  1. Open Sheets and in a spreadsheet, highlight the range of data you want to create a chart for.
  2. Click Insertand thenChart.
  3. (Optional) In the editor, change the chart type and other aspects.
  4. (Optional) In the editor, to tailor axes, styles, titles, and more, click Customize.

To learn more, see Chart and graph types.

CheckboxDuplicate tabs to make quicker copies
  1. Open the sheet.
  2. At the bottom of your spreadsheet, on the sheet’s tab, click the Down arrow Down Arrow.
  3. Select Delete or Duplicate.
CheckboxCreate custom tab colors

Change the color of tabs on a spreadsheet to quickly tell them apart.

  1. On a sheet tab, click the Down arrow Down Arrow.
  2. Click Change color and select a color.
  3. (Optional) To choose a custom color, click Custom and select a color using the sliders or by entering a color number.
CheckboxRemove duplicate data

You can easily remove duplicate values from your sheet, without having to write an app script or manually removing the data.

  1. In Sheets, open a spreadsheet.
  2. Select the data range that you want to remove duplicate data in.
  3. Click Dataand thenRemove duplicates.
  4. Select which columns to include and whether the data has headers.
  5. Click Remove duplicates.
  6. In the status window, click OK.
CheckboxRecord macros
  1. In Sheets, open a spreadsheet and click Toolsand thenMacrosand thenRecord macro.
  2. Select the type of cell reference to use.
  3. Complete the task you want to record and click Save.
  4. Name the macro and click Save.
  5. Click Toolsand thenMacrosand thenyour macro to run the macro.

Learn more

CheckboxLimit what people can see or edit with protected ranges and sheets

Prevent others from making changes to sheets and ranges:

  1. Open the sheet and click Data > Protected sheets and ranges.
  2. Click +Add a sheet or range.
  3. Click Range to protect a range of content or Sheet to protect a whole sheet.
  4. Click Set permissions and choose whether to show a warning or restrict who can edit the content.
  5. Click Done.

Hide a sheet:

  1. On the tab for the sheet you want to hide, click the Down arrow Down Arrow.
  2. Click Hide sheet.

Note: People with Edit access can unhide a sheet. People with View access won't see the sheet, but they can make a copy of the spreadsheet and can unhide the sheet.

Learn more

CheckboxSort and filter your data

To filter data in a spreadsheet for all viewers, create a filter. To create filters that don't affect anyone else's view, create filter views.

Create a filter:

  1. Select a range of cells.
  2. Click Dataand thenCreate a filter.
  3. Go to the top of the range and click Filter Filter to see the filter options.

Create a filter view:

  1. In Google Sheets, open the spreadsheet where you want to create a filter view.
  2. Click a cell that has data.
  3. Select Dataand thenFilter viewsand thenCreate new filter view.
  4. Click a drop-down list in a column header and select the data you want to filter. Your filter view is saved as you make changes.
  5. (Optional) To search for data, enter text in the search box.
  6. After you select the data to filter, click OK.
  7. Repeat steps 4–6 for each column you need to filter.
  8. In the Name box, enter a name for your filter view. If you don’t enter a name, the filter view is saved as Filter number, where number corresponds to the number of filters you’ve created.

Your saved filter view now appears in Dataand thenFilter views. Filter views have dark gray highlights in the column and row headers.

Learn more

3. Give impactful, interactive presentations

CheckboxCreate a presentation with Docs editors templates

Choose an option:

  • From the Docs, Sheets, or Slides homepage: Click Create Plus .
  • In Drive, click Newand thenGoogle Docs/Sheets/Slidesand thenBlank document or From a template.

Learn more

CheckboxSkip slides you don't want to show

You can skip slides you don't want to show to others when you're presenting. People you've shared the slide with will still be able to see the slide.

  1. At the left, right-click the slide.
  2. Click Skip Slide.
  3. (Optional) To show a skipped slide, click Skip Slide again.

Learn more

CheckboxCopy formats you like to other text

Copy text or cell formatting:

You can quickly copy the formatting of text you like to other areas.

  1. In a Sheet, Doc or Slide, format your text or cell the way you want it. 
  2. Highlight the text or cell and click the paint roller icon in the top left corner. 
  3. Click a cell or highlight text. The cell or highlighted text will pick up the same formatting. 

Copy a theme to a new presentation:

You can also copy a Slides theme you like to an existing or new presentation.

  1. In Slides, create a new presentation. Or, if you’re modifying an existing presentation, click Slideand thenChange theme.
  2. Click Import theme.
  3. Choose a presentation from Google Drive or choose a presentation to upload from your computer.
  4. Click Select.
  5. Choose a theme and click Import theme to apply it to your current presentation.

Learn more

CheckboxLink content between Docs editors files

Add a Sheets chart to your presentation:

  1. In Sheets, select the chart you want to copy.
  2. At the top right, click More Moreand thenCopy chart.
  3. In Slides, right-clickand thenPaste. 
  4. Click Paste.
For more details, see Insert and edit charts.

Add suggested content, including documents in Drive:

  1. In Slides, open a presentation and click Explore Open Explore.
  2. In the Explore window, next to Search Search, enter your query and press Enter.
  3. Choose an option:
    • To open a web result, under Web, click a link.
    • To add an image, click Images. Hover over an image and click Add Add.
    • To open a Drive file, click Drive and then click a file.

Learn more

CheckboxCreate flow charts with drawings

Create a flowchart, diagram, or other type of drawing:

  1. Open Google Drive.

  2. Click Plus Newand thenMoreand thenGoogle Drawings.

  3. Use the menu options and buttons to design diagrams, paint an image, and create flowcharts and other types of drawings.

Add your drawing to a document or presentation:

  1. Open Drive.
  2. Open a saved Google drawing.
  3. Select the entire drawing.
  4. Click Editand thenCopy.
  5. Open the document or slide where you want to insert the drawing.
  6. Click Editand thenPaste.

Insert other types of diagrams:

  1. Click Insertand thenDiagram and choose an option:
    • Grid
    • Hierarchy
    • Timeline
    • Process
    • Relationship
    • Cycle
  2. After you select a diagram, customize it further by choosing an option at the top of the diagram window.

Learn more

CheckboxAdd speaker notes

You can add speaker notes to presentations that only you will see when you present. People you share the presentation with will be able to see the notes. When you present your slides, your speaker notes show in a separate window.

Below the slide, click Click to add speaker notes, and add your text. If you don't see the Click to add speaker notes section, at the top, click Viewand thenShow speaker notes.

Learn more

CheckboxTurn on closed captions

You can use automatic captions during your presentation to display your words in real time at the bottom of the screen.

Your computer microphone needs to be on and working and you need to be using Chrome. This feature is only available in U.S. English.

Learn more

CheckboxHold a live Q&A

Get questions from the audience:

  1. In Slides, at the top right corner next to Present, click the Down arrowDown Arrowand then Presenter view. 
  2. In the pop-up, click Audience Tools.
  3. Click Start New.
    A new short URL for the presentation shows up at the top of the slides as you're presenting. Audience members can enter the URL in their browser and ask a question. You'll see questions in the Presenter view window.

 

Present questions from the audience:

  1. In Slides, go to Audience Tools.
  2. Under the question you want to display, click Present.
  3. (Optional) To change the question, find a different question and click Present.
  4. (Optional) To stop showing the question that you want to display, click Hide.

 

Ask or vote on questions:

  1. In Slides, at the top of the presentation, click the link (for example, goo.gl/slides/a1b) to ask a question. Or, enter the link in a browser window.
  2. Click Ask a question and enter your question.
  3. (Optional) To submit a question anonymously, check the Ask anonymously box.
  4. Under a question, click Thumbs up Thumbs up or Thumbs down Thumbs down to vote on it.
  5. Click Submit.

Learn more

 

Back to top Back to top

Next steps

Want to get a jump start on becoming productive on G Suite? See the Week 5 checklist.
 
Was this helpful?
How can we improve it?