5 Google Sheets Mistakes That Make You Look Incompetent (And How to Fix Them)

Avoid these common blunders to keep your spreadsheets clean, professional, and impressive

Google Sheets is a powerful tool for managing data, creating reports, and collaborating with teams. However, poor spreadsheet practices can make you look disorganized and unprofessional. If you want to be viewed as competent when working in Google Sheets, avoid these five common mistakes:

Not Using Data Validation for Input Fields

If your spreadsheet involves user input, failing to use data validation can lead to inconsistent or incorrect entries.

Everything in this column needs to be an email.

For example, if a column is meant to contain dates, allowing free text input can cause errors.

This value should be rejected.

Use Data Validation (found under Data > Data validation) to restrict input to a list, number range, or specific format, ensuring cleaner and more accurate data.