In the current workplace, almost every employee uses Microsoft Excel for at least something. Preparing Marketing Dashboards, financial modelling, and tracking projects, Excel can help individuals analyze data and make decisions. However, Excel can feel very overwhelming, especially for beginners.

But there is good news. There are ways to learn Excel online free, and even to get certified for free. This article aims to teach the fundamentals of Excel in 7 days, and the cheapest way, with a guided schedule and a free Excel course.

What are the Things to Learn and Why are They Useful

According to Burning Glass Technologies, 82% of middle-skilled jobs require proficiency in Excel. That’s why, according to LinkedIn, Excel is one of the 5 top in demand skills every year. Learning Excel is essential for:

• Data Driven Reporting
• Automation of tasks
• Increased Employment Opportunities in High-Paying Roles in Data, Finance, Marketing, and Operations

Learning Excel in a short time is about learning the right things. It’s about setting a specific goal and learning the things that matter the most in New Analytics Tools & Techniques for Data, Marketing, and Operations.

7-Day Free Excel Learning Plan

Below is the free, structured, time-bound, and resourceful plan especially for beginners who want to improve from the most basic to the most advanced in just 7 days.

Day 1: Getting Started with Excel

Goal: Understand the interface, how to navigate in Excel, and the basic tools, functions and menus.

What to learn

• Menu and options in the  Ribbon, and Tabs
• Cells, Rows, Columns, and Worksheets
• Data entry and formatting

Action steps

• You need to watch the introductory video in a free Excel course to help you get familiar with the layout.
• Practice saving your work and try to enter data and format it using basic formatting and simple functions like bold, italic, thin/thick border, and use colours.
• Learn and try keyboard shortcuts for efficiency,like Ctrl + Z, Ctrl + Shift + L, and Alt =

Day 2: Automate and Perform Calculations

Goal: Perform basic calculations and automate them using functions.

What to learn

• SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, COUNT, COUNTA
• Basic cell referencing A1, B2 and the difference between relative and absolute referencing ($A$1)

Action steps

• Create a simple data set, e.g., monthly expenses and practice.
• Learn the difference between manual entry and cell referencing. And push yourself to calculate the totals, averages, and percentages.

Pro Tip: Memorising is less important than focusing on accuracy and understanding formula logic.

Day 3: Data Sorting, Filtering, and Formatting

Goal: Learn to organise and view data effectively.

What to learn

• Sort & Filter tools
• Conditional Formatting
• Data validation and dropdown lists

Action steps

• Using sample data like product lists or student scores, demonstrate “Sort A–Z” and “Filter.”
• Apply conditional formatting to highlight top performers or sales below targeted goals.
• Create dynamic dropdowns for data entry consistency.

This teaches data hygiene—the bedrock of clean, dependable analysis.

Day 4: Intermediate Formulas for Real-World Tasks

Goal: Move up a tier with logical and text-based functions.

What to learn

• IF, AND, OR, NOT (Logical Functions)
• CONCATENATE, LEFT, RIGHT, LEN, TRIM (Text Functions)
• Date & Time functions like TODAY(), NOW(), DAYS()

Action steps

• Create an IF formula to categorise as “Pass/Fail” or “Profit/Loss.”
• Use CONCAT or TEXTJOIN to combine customised label texts.
• Automate duration calculations with date formulas.

These functions are often employed in HR, finance, and project dashboards.

Day 5: Data Visualisation with Charts and Tables

Goal: Use visuals to express data insights.

What to learn

• Insert differing chart formats (Bar, Line, Pie, Combo) and customise them.
• Create and style a Pivot Table
• Use Sparklines to place micro-charts in the cell.ls

Action steps

• Build monthly trend charts from sample sales data. Summarise the totals by region or product using a Pivot Table.
• Visually tell a story by experimenting with different design elements like titles, labels, and colours.

Visually presenting data will help you stand out in a report and even during interviews.

Day 6: Automation with Advanced Excel Tools

Goal: Use smart automation features to save yourself time.

What to learn

• Data cleaning with Flash Fill and Remove Duplicates
• Lookup formulas (VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, INDEX-MATCH)
• Macros (Basic understanding)

Action steps

• Use Flash Fill to format text automatically.
• Fetch product prices or employee info using VLOOKUP.
• See a tutorial about simple processes with macros that can automate repetitive tasks.

If you are in a data-heavy role, even the basic automation can save you hours each week.

Day 7: Capstone Project + Certification

Goal: Validate your skills by combining everything learned.

What to learn

• Use charts, format, and formulas, all in a single workbook
• Sample projects:
  • Monthly Budget Tracker
    
  • Sales Performance Dashboard
    
  • Employee Attendance Sheet
    

Action steps

• Choose any one project template and replicate it from the ground up.
• Upload your files to an online platform offering free Excel courses with completion certificates.
• To highlight your achievement, share the certificate either on LinkedIn or your résumé.

The 7-day plan will not only help you learn Excel, but also provide you with a piece for your portfolio to demonstrate your skills.

More Resources to Speed Up the 7-Day Plan

The 7-day plan gives a base structure, but you could do even more with these free resources:

• Microsoft Learn: Official tutorials with practice files
• YouTube Channels: Leila Gharani, ExcelIsFun
• Blogs: ExcelJet, Spreadsheet
• Forums: r/Excel on Reddit, Stack Overflow

You could also take a free intermediate Excel course that includes lessons on business analytics, dashboards, and Power Query to advance smoothly from beginner to advanced.

Mistakes to Avoid When Learning Excel

• Not Practising: Watching tutorials isn’t enough. Practice daily.
• Overlooking Data Types: Text as a number or wrong date entries break formulas.
• Not Having Learning Context: Apply every function to real-world scenarios.
• Not Using Keyboard Shortcuts: Shortcuts build speed and confidence.

It is better to spend at least one hour a day working on something rather than working on a skill for one hour perfectly.

Conclusion: Completing a Week’s Work to Achieve Excel Competency

It is possible to become good at Excel in a week without spending a lot of money on online courses, and without spending a lot of time juggling your structured learning in one week, you will become good at it. The seven-day plan enables you to gain a lot of momentum, assist you in understanding real-life use cases, and even get certification that you can add to your profile.

If you want to get a certification and complete your first dashboard in a week, I suggest you get started now. The time invested in mastering Excel is time well spent for a job well done.