Today you will
- type dates and times so the spreadsheet understands them
- work out the hours on a shift with a formula
- build an hours tracker with a total and today's date
Warm-up
Think of one shift from Work Experience or your project. What time did it start, and what time did it end? About how many hours was that?
A real date is a date the spreadsheet understands, like 03/03/2026. Type the day, then the month, then the year.
A real time is a clock time typed with a colon, like 09:00, not 9-00.
The hours formula is {{formula:=(end-start)*24}}. Set the answer to Number format, not Time.
{{formula:=TODAY()}} always shows today's date.
Example
A Centra stocktake shift runs from 09:00 to 13:30. The formula {{formula:=(D2-C2)*24}} shows 4.50 hours.
You will build a small hours tracker using the practice rows below. Follow the steps in the box below and tick each one as you go. Later you will swap in your own times.
| Date | Location | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03/03/2026 | Work Experience: reception | 09:00 | 13:00 |
| 04/03/2026 | Work Experience: stockroom | 09:30 | 14:00 |
| 05/03/2026 | Project set-up | 10:00 | 12:30 |
| 06/03/2026 | Work Experience: phones | 09:00 | 15:00 |
| 07/03/2026 | Project follow-up | 11:00 | 13:00 |
Common issues
- Hours show a clock time or tiny decimal. Check the formula has *24, then choose Number.
- A date looks wrong or sits on the left. Type it again as day, month, year and set it to Date.
- A cell shows ##### or a minus number. Widen the column. Check the end time is later than the start, and both use a colon.
Independent Practice
- Open {{code:sm3_time_tracker}} in {{code:09_specialism/sm3}}.
- Type over the five practice rows with five real sessions of your own.
- In Location, name the place or task clearly, like Centra: deli counter.
- Leave the Hours formulas, the total and the TODAY() date as they are.
- Change one end time and check that the hours update.
If you had no placement this week, log five realistic project or training sessions instead.
- My tracker has clear headings and five real rows.
- The hours work out by themselves and show like 4.00.
- I can see the total hours and today's date.
- A supervisor could read it and see when I worked.
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