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Setting and pursuing goals, whether short or long term, is a fundamental aspect of self-improvement. Your objectives might range from career-oriented goals like landing a job or enrolling in college or trade school, to academic achievements such as earning a better grade on a test. Having a plan is crucial to achieving these goals. A detailed, step-by-step plan transforms your aspirations into tangible targets, providing the motivation and direction needed to start working towards them. Goals vary widely as everyone comes from unique backgrounds with diverse ambitions. Reflect on what matters most to you and how setting a goal can facilitate achieving something more significant. For instance, devising a study schedule to improve your grades can pave the way for college, trade school, military service, or future career opportunities.
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to create a schedule in a spreadsheet to assist you in planning for a future goal. Spreadsheets, with their systematic arrangement of cells, rows, and columns, are excellent tools for categorizing and organizing information. In this context, a cell represents the intersection point in the grid pattern formed by rows and columns, with rows being horizontal and columns vertical. Although this lesson focuses on Google Sheets, the skills and concepts you learn are transferable to most other spreadsheet applications, and can even be applied using pen and paper. Throughout this lesson, you’ll engage in creating a new spreadsheet, formatting columns, adding text, using data validation for dropdown lists, and managing dates. To begin, sign into your Google account, open a new browser tab, navigate to “google.com,” and access Google Drive to create your new spreadsheet. Consider a short-term goal you wish to achieve, such as preparing for a test, getting an A in Chemistry, making the school soccer team, applying for college or trade school, or obtaining a job. If nothing comes to mind, feel free to use the example provided in this lesson. Finally, rename your spreadsheet and explore additional Google Sheets features, like screen readers, to enhance your experience. Now, it’s your turn: start by creating and renaming a blank spreadsheet in Google Sheets.