How to Use Day of Week Formula in Excel

• The WEEKDAY function in Excel returns a number representing the day of the week for a given date.
• The TEXT function can convert a date into the name of the day.
• These functions are essential for organizing data, scheduling tasks, and performing date-based analyses.
• Combining WEEKDAY with other Excel functions allows for customized and advanced date calculations.

 

Mastering WEEKDAY Function

Defining the WEEKDAY Function

The WEEKDAY Function is a nifty tool in Excel’s DATE and TIME suite that makes it a breeze to determine the day of week for any given date. What does it do? =WEEKDAY(A2)

It returns an integer from 1 to 7 that corresponds to a day of week, starting with Sunday. By default, 1 would represent Sunday and 7 would stand for Saturday.

This little function is incredibly handy when it comes to planning, scheduling, or conducting any form of date-related analysis. Whether it’s to identify the busiest weekday to staff your store or to filter out weekends while tracking working days, the WEEKDAY function has got you covered.

Displaying Day Names from Dates

You can use the TEXT function to change dates to a day in Excel. The formula will be:

=TEXT(A2. “dddd”)

This will quickly convert the date to the day name.

For example, 23rd June 2024 will return the day name as Sunday.

You can also use the second argument of the formula as “dd”, to get the abbreviated version of the day name.

=TEXT(A2, “ddd”)

For this formula, Excel will return the value as Sun.

Customize Abbreviations

To get the day name in a abbrevauted form with just two letters, you can use this formula:

=CHOOSE(WEEKDAY(A2), "Su", "Mo", "Tu", "We", "Th", "Fr", "Sa")

 

Advanced Weekend Analysis Techniques

Identify and Highlight Weekends

Visual cues in Excel can be a real timesaver, and what better way to spot weekends at a glance? You can use conditional formatting combined with the mighty WEEKDAY function to make weekends stand out.

Here’s a bit of Excel magic: by defining a rule with the formula =WEEKDAY($A2, 2)<6 for workdays or =WEEKDAY($A2, 2)<5 for weekends, you’ve essentially created a visual indicator. Apply color to these formatted cells, and voilà, your weekend dates are now distinguishable with ease.

This particularly shines when juggling project timelines, planning social media content, or managing staffing rotas. Instantly, with colors popping out at you, there’s no mistaking which dates fall on those precious Saturdays and Sundays.

Counting Weekends and Workdays

Keeping projects on track means being razor-sharp about timelines, which includes knowing exactly how many workdays you’ve got. Enter Excel’s superpowers: with a combination of SUM and WEEKDAY functions, you can count weekends and workdays with precision. Lay out a formula like =SUM(--(WEEKDAY(A1:A7, 2)<6)) for workdays

or, =SUM(--(WEEKDAY(A1:A7, 2)>5)) for weekends and it’ll tally up those days in a snap.

This technique is indispensable when setting milestones, estimating completion times, or planning out resource allocation. It’s one of those tricks that, once mastered, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without—transforming a potentially headache-inducing task into a few clicks.

 

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Solving WEEKDAY Function Errors

Stumbling upon errors when using the WEEKDAY function can be frustrating, but fear not—these hiccups are usually quick fixes. If you see a #NUM! error, it typically means that your return_type is outside the permitted range of 1-3 or 11-17 which dictates the starting day of the week.

Double-check and adjust this value to fit within these bounds, and you’ll be back on track.

Encountering a #VALUE! error? This likely indicates a non-numeric value where a numeric one is expected or a date that’s outside of Excel’s acceptable range (January 1, 1900, to December 31, 9999 in the Gregorian calendar).

Make sure that your dates are formatted correctly and fall within this range.

With these tweaks, you’ll have the WEEKDAY function humming along again, enabling smooth sailing through your date-related calculations.

Tips for Accurate Date Input and Conversion

For wrangling dates in Excel without a hitch, the accuracy of your input and conversion is key. To start off on the right foot, always check that your dates are entered using the DATE function rather than typing them out. This will make sure that Excel correctly identifies them as dates and not text or other formats, which can lead to miscalculations.

Another golden rule is to stay mindful of the date format settings on your computer, which influence how Excel interprets your entries. If you’re in a region that uses DD/MM/YYYY but your settings are MM/DD/YYYY, your data will not only read incorrectly, but calculations will go awry.

For seamless conversions from text to dates, use the DATEVALUE function but keep an eye out for those regional settings. Applying these tips will keep your date-related functions, like WEEKDAY, functioning flawlessly and your data analysis spot on.

 

FAQs

Is there a formula for day of week in Excel?

Yes, Excel offers the WEEKDAY function, which provides the day of the week corresponding to a particular date. By default, it will return a number from 1 (Sunday) to 7 (Saturday). You can use it simply by typing =WEEKDAY(date) in a cell, replacing date with your specific date cell reference or an actual date value.

What is the quickest way to find the day of the week from a date in Excel?

The quickest way is to use the TEXT function like this: =TEXT(date, "dddd"). Just replace date with the cell containing the date or the actual date. This will instantly return the full name of the day of the week.

How to highlight only weekends in an Excel sheet?

You can use conditional formatting to highlight only weekends in Excel. Follow the steps below:

• Select the cells with dates
• Go to Home tab
• Select Conditional Formatting
• Select New Rule
• Select Use a formula
• Enter the formula: =OR(WEEKDAY(your_cell)=1, WEEKDAY(your_cell)=7)
• Choose a desired format.

This will highlight all the dates that fall on Saturday or Sunday.

How to use the weekday formula in Excel?

To use the WEEKDAY formula in Excel, follow the steps below:

• Click on the cell.
• Type the formula: =WEEKDAY(
• Enter the cell that contains the date: =WEEKDAY(A1)
• Press Enter

Excel will display the day of the week as a number. This formula treats 1 as Sunday and 7 as Saturday by default.