Applications - The Productive Engineer

Google Sheets is perhaps the most popular spreadsheet application in the market today (along with Microsoft Excel). Google Sheets provides a rich sorting capability as part of its feature set. One of the most commonly used sorting options is the ability to sort by date. In this blog post, we will cover how to sort data by date in Google Sheets. Each step in the process will include a screenshot so that you can see exactly how to perform each step in the process. The easiest way to sort a column by date in Google Sheets is to do the following: Open the Spreadsheet in Google SheetsSelect the Headers of the column(s) you want to sort by date (make sure the column data type is Date)Click Data > Create a Filter OptionClick on the filter iconClick Sort A - Z or Click Z - A in sort in first to last or last to first date respectively Before we get started with the tutorial, if you are looking to learn more about apps like Notion, Todoist, Evernote, Google Docs, or just how to be more productive (like Keep Productive's awesome Notion course), you should really check out SkillShare. Skillshare is an online learning platform with courses on pretty much anything you want to learn. To learn more about Skillshare and its vast library of courses and get 30% off, click the link below: SkillShare - Online Learning Platform If you are relatively new to Google Sheets, check out our Beginner's Guide to Google Sheets. How to Sort by Date in Google Sheets Using Column Filters Before you get started trying to sort a column by date, you must make sure that all the values you are looking to sort are actually dates. You can determine this using the Data -> Data Validation option. Once you have validated that all of your cells you want to sort are dates, do the following to sort your column by date: A spreadsheet in Google Sheets Open the spreadsheet in Google Sheets Freezing rows in Google Sheets Freeze the rows above and including your header row by selecting the row and going to View -> Freeze -> Up to current row as shown in the screenshot above Selecting a cell in Google Sheets Select any cell in the column you want to sort by date Sorting a date column in Google Sheets using the Sort Sheet by options Click Data -> and select either Sort sheet by column, A->Z to sort oldest to newest date or select Sort sheet by column, Z->A to sort from newest to oldest Your date column should now be sorted by date. How to Sort Using Sort Range in Google Sheets You can also use the Sort Range function to sort a table in Google Sheet. Enclosed below are the steps to sort a table by date using Sort Range in Google Sheets: Open Your Spreadsheet in Google SheetsSelect all the cells in the table except the headers Click Data > Sort RangeChoose the column you want to sort onSelect A - Z or Z - A to sort earlier date to latest or latest to earliest datePress the Sort buttonYour table should now be sorted by date Open Your Spreadsheet in Google Sheets Spreadsheet containing dates in Google Sheets Open the spreadsheet you want to sort in Google Sheets. Select all the Cells in the Table Except the Headers Select all the cells in your table except the headers Select all in the cells in the table EXCEPT the headers as shown in the screenshot above. There are unsorted dates in this table. Date Sorting Using Sort Range Select Sort Range from the menu in Google Sheets Next, go to Data -> Sort Range to bring up the Sort Range menu. Choose the Column You Want to Sort Select the column you want to sort in the Sort Range menu The Sort Range menu should now be visible. Find the "Sort by" option. Click the drop-down button and select the column that contains the dates you want to sort by in your table. Select A->Z or Z->A to Sort Table either Earliest to Latest Date or Latest to Earliest date Sorting options in Sort Range menu in Google Sheets To the right of the "Sort by" option are two radio buttons: A->ZZ->A A->Z sorts your table from earliest date to latest date. Z->A sorts your table from latest date to earliest date. Select the option you want. Click the "Sort" Button to Sort the Table Click the "Sort" button in the Sort Range menu to sort your table Finally, click the "Sort" button to sort your table. A table sorted by date in Google Sheets Your table should now be sorted by date. Now, let's sort a table by day of the week. How to Sort a Table by Day of the Week in Google Sheets Enclosed below are the steps required to sort a table by day of the week in Google Sheets: Open your Spreadsheet in Google SheetsCreate two new columns and name them "Day of the Week number" and "Day of Week"Click first empty cell in "Day of the Week number" column and type =WEEKDAY("your date cell") and hit EnterClick and drag blue square box to auto-populate equation in the rest of your cells in your tableIn the first empty cell in the "Day of Week" column, type the following equation: =CHOOSE( weekday(your day of the week cell), "Sunday", "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday") and hit EnterClick and drag blue square box to auto-populate equation in rest of the columnSelect all the cells in your table except the headers and go to Data->Sort RangeSelect the "Day of the Week number" column and click "Sort" button to sort table by day of weekYour table should now be sorted by the day of the week Open your Spreadsheet in Google Sheets A basic spreadsheet in Google Sheets Open up the spreadsheet you want to sort by day of the week in Google Calendar. Create Two New Columns and Name Them "Day of the Week number" and "Day of Week" Add two columns for day of the week in Google Sheets Next, we need to add two new columns to our spreadsheet: Day of Week in NumberDay of Week The reason why we need to do this is that the WEEKDAY function we will use to determine the day of the week based on our date column returns a number representing the day of the week, not the name of the day of the week. Each day of the week is numbered from 1 - 7 as follows: Day of the WeekDay of the Week NumberSunday1Monday2Tuesday3Wednesday4Thursday5Friday6Saturday7Days of the Week by number in Google Sheets table So, as a result, we first need to figure out the day of the week number then we can assign the day of week name. Click First Empty Cell in "Day of the Week number" column and Type =WEEKDAY("your date cell") and hit Enter Using the WEEKDAY function in Google Sheets Now, click the first empty cell in the "Day of the Week number" column and type in the following: =WEEKDAY(YOURDATECELL) Where it says YOURDATECELL, type in the address of the "Date" cell that is next to your "Day of Week in Number" column. Day of Week in Number form in Google Sheets You should now see a number in your "Day of Week in Number" cell as shown in the screenshot above. For my example, my number is 3 which represents Tuesday. Click and Drap the Blue Square Box in Lower Right Corner of Cell to End of Column in Table to Auto-populate Column with Formula Dragging blue box to apply formula to rest of column in Google Sheets Next, click the blue box and drag it to the bottom of your column and release the mouse button. This will apply the same formula to the rest of the column. You should now see numeric values for each of your dates. In the First Empty Cell in the "Day of Week" column, type the following equation: =CHOOSE( weekday(your day of the week cell), "Sunday", "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday") and hit Enter Applying the CHOOSE function to a nested WEEKDAY function to assign the day of week name The next step involves a complicated looking formula but don't sweat it. Click in the first empty cell in the "Day of Week" column and type in the following formula: =CHOOSE( weekday(your day of the week cell), "Sunday", "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday") Where is says "your day of the week cell), type in the address of the first cell in the "Day of Week in Number" column. In our example that is B3. Hit Enter to save your formula to the cell. Click and drag blue square box to auto-populate equation in rest of the column Days of Week in Google Sheets Click and drag the blue square box in the first cell to the end of the column and release the mouse button. This will apply the formula to the rest of the column. You should now see the days of the week for each date as shown in the screenshot above. Now let's sort the table by day of the week. Select All of the Cells in Your Table EXCEPT the Headers and go to Data -> Sort Range Select all of the cells in the table except the headers Select all of the cells in your table EXCEPT the headers. Selecting the Sort Range function in Google Sheets Next, go to Data-> Sort Range to bring up the Sort Range menu. Select the "Day of the Week number" Column and Click the "Sort" Button to Sort Table by Day of Week selecting our day of week number column and clicking Sort in Sort Range menu in Google Sheets In the Sort Range menu, select your "Day of Week in Number" column. Then click the "Sort" button to sort your table by the day of the week. A table in Google Sheets sorted by the day of the week Your table should now be sorted by the day of the week. I hope this tutorial was helpful to you. Good luck! Want More Tips and Tricks? Subscribe to our Newsletter! If you haven’t already subscribed, please subscribe to The Productive Engineer newsletter. It is filled with tips and tricks on how to get the most out of the productivity apps you use every day. We hate spam as much as you do and promise only to send you stuff we think will help you get things done. Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated. Enter your email address to subscribe Provide your email address to subscribe. For e.g abc@xyz.com SUBSCRIBE Terms & Privacy policy Check Out Our YouTube Channel! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wy1KxjmWNg Google Sheets Beginner's Guide We have a YouTube channel now and we are working hard to fill it with tips, tricks, how-tos, and tutorials. 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