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Project planning and to-do lists

Accomplish tasks and keep your project on track with free downloadable project planning templates and to-do lists in Microsoft Excel.

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Plan projects and stay on task with free templates in Excel

Simplify projects into manageable tasks and effectively track your progress. Easily customize free project planning and to-do list templates in Excel and manage complex business or personal projects with online collaboration.

Free project planning templates

Gantt project planner modern-simple
Gantt project planner
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Project plan for law firms modern simple
Project plan for law firms
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Idea planner (tasks) purple modern-simple
Idea planner
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Free to-do list templates

To do list with progress tracker modern simple
To-do list with progress tracker
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Project to do list purple simple modern
Project to-do list
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To-do list green organic simple
Simple to-do list
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Prioritize tasks to start a project

Break down large projects into smaller tasks and key delivery milestones to achieve the final delivery date. Accurately forecast the time and resources a project will take and assign priority, status, and due dates.

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Save time with templates 

Start with pre-formatted templates that have dropdown status selections and progress bar visuals. Customize column types to track project specifics such as dependencies, meeting notes, or document links.

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A home remodel to-do list example

Set specific project goals

Clarify project objectives and key results by categorizing tasks to the objectives they align to. Keep the project main priorities front of mind to spend the right amount of time on each task.

Plan and create lists
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Get project insights with AI-generated analysis

Chat with Copilot in Excel to create graphs or pivot tables analyzing expected workload or task completion rate. Have Copilot add columns to show days left before the due date or to highlight overdue tasks.

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Create Gantt charts to schedule your tasks

Visualize your task list over time with a Gantt chart in Excel. Decide how many hours or days you want to allot to each task and arrange them in sequence across a stacked bar chart to track completion across a timeline.

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Budget time and resources

Set realistic deadlines for different tasks to outline a schedule for you or your team. Estimate any costs for materials or services and allocate funds to stay within budget.

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Collaborate with others 

Set group and individual specific view/edit online access with project plan sharing permissions. Align collaborators on objectives, have them update task statuses in real time. Lock certain cells to prevent unwanted edits and maintain the plans' overall structure.

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Adaptable project plans and to-do lists

  • Project managers: track progress and assign responsibilities.

  • Small business owners: organize projects to meet deadlines for deliverables.

  • Event planners: manage event logistics and coordinate vendors.

  • Students: organize coursework and track assignments.

  • IT professionals: map out sprints and backlog items with spreadsheets.

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Excel templates for project planning and to-do lists

How to create a project plan or to-do list in Excel

  1. Find a project plan or to-do list template you can modify to fit your situation

  2. Customize tables to track project specifics including priority level, task progress, and category

  3. Enter and prioritize tasks leading to your delivery goal

  4. Align and collaborate with others and assign tasks as needed

  5. Regularly update task statuses and analyze overall completion

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Frequently asked questions

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