excel

How To Find The Weekday Of A Date In Excel

Boost your productivity with Sourcetable's AI spreadsheet assistant. Work like a spreadsheet power user and answer all your questions in seconds.


Learn more
Jump to

Introduction

Discovering the weekday for a specific date in Excel can be a crucial task for organizing schedules and analyzing temporal data. Excel offers functions to calculate this, but the process requires complex formulas and multiple steps.

While Excel relies on manual functions and formulas, Sourcetable's AI chatbot lets you find weekdays and perform any spreadsheet analysis by simply asking in plain English. Try Sourcetable to instantly answer any spreadsheet question without writing complex formulas.

excel

Finding the Weekday of a Date in Excel

To determine the weekday of a date in Excel, apply the WEEKDAY function. It converts a date into a number corresponding to a day of the week, ranging from 1 (Sunday) to 7 (Saturday).

Using WEEKDAY Function

The WEEKDAY function syntax requires a serial_number, the date as a numeric value. Optionally, specify a return_type to control the numbering outcome. For instance, =WEEKDAY(A1) brings back an integer 1-7 following the default Sunday-Saturday sequence.

Entering Dates Correctly

Input dates must be numeric sequential values. Ensure accuracy by using the DATE function rather than text to avert issues, e.g., =WEEKDAY(DATE(2015,3,15)).

Customizing Weekday Results

Alter the return type to accommodate different start days or numbering by using the second argument of the WEEKDAY function as in =WEEKDAY(A1, 2).

Additional Functions to Display Weekday

The TEXT and CHOOSE formulas also fetch weekdays from dates. TEXT translates a date to a text day, while CHOOSE can return a specific day's name based on the index number provided by WEEKDAY.

Examples of WEEKDAY Function

Examples include plain returns such as =WEEKDAY(A2), numeric date values like =WEEKDAY(38157), or formatted strings such as =WEEKDAY("Apr 21, 2015").

excel
excel

Use Cases for Excel Weekday Functions

Schedule Weekly Team Meetings

Quickly identify the day of the week for recurring meetings months in advance. This helps in planning long-term schedules and ensuring consistent meeting patterns while avoiding holidays and other conflicts.

Analyze Weekday Sales Patterns

Transform daily sales data into weekday-based analysis to uncover purchasing trends. Understanding which days consistently perform better helps optimize staffing and inventory management.

Manage Project Timeline Tasks

Assign and track project tasks based on specific weekdays to maintain consistent workflows. This enables better resource allocation and helps team members establish productive routines.

Design Weekly Fitness Programs

Create structured workout schedules by assigning specific exercises to different days of the week. This ensures balanced training programs and helps maintain consistent exercise habits.

Optimize Service Business Operations

Map transaction dates to weekdays to identify peak business periods. This information enables better staff scheduling and resource allocation to match customer demand patterns.

sourcetable

Excel vs Sourcetable: Traditional vs AI-Powered Spreadsheets

While Excel relies on manual functions and formulas for data analysis, Sourcetable revolutionizes spreadsheet work with its AI-powered approach. Simply tell Sourcetable's AI chatbot what you want to analyze, and it handles the complex calculations, visualizations, and data processing for you. Whether you're uploading files or connecting databases, Sourcetable eliminates the need to learn complicated formulas or features. Try Sourcetable at https://app.sourcetable.com/ to instantly answer any spreadsheet question.

Analysis Approach

Excel requires users to know specific functions and formulas for data analysis. Sourcetable lets you describe your analysis needs in plain language to its AI chatbot, which then generates the appropriate calculations and insights automatically.

Data Processing

Excel has size limitations and can slow down with large datasets. Sourcetable handles files of any size and connects directly to databases, processing complex analyses through simple conversations with its AI.

Visualization Creation

Excel needs manual chart configuration and formatting. Sourcetable's AI instantly creates stunning visualizations based on your verbal requests, no formatting knowledge required.

Learning Curve

Excel demands extensive knowledge of functions and features. Sourcetable eliminates the learning curve by allowing users to express their needs conversationally to its AI chatbot.

Workflow Efficiency

Excel involves multiple manual steps for analysis and visualization. Sourcetable streamlines the entire process through natural language interactions, turning complex spreadsheet tasks into simple conversations.

excel

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I find the weekday of a date in Excel?

Use the WEEKDAY function with the syntax WEEKDAY(serial_number,[return_type]). Enter your date as the serial_number using the DATE function or as a result of another formula. By default, this will return a number from 1 (Sunday) to 7 (Saturday).

What values does the WEEKDAY function return in Excel?

The WEEKDAY function returns an integer representing the day of the week. By default (return_type 1), it returns 1 for Sunday through 7 for Saturday. However, you can modify this using different return_type values to start the week on different days.

How do I change which day is considered the start of the week in Excel's WEEKDAY function?

Use the return_type argument in the WEEKDAY function. For example, use return_type 2 to start with Monday as 1 and Sunday as 7, or return_type 3 to start with Monday as 0 and Sunday as 6. Various return_type options (1, 2, 3, 11-17) allow different starting days of the week.

Conclusion

Finding the weekday of a date doesn't need to involve complex Excel functions. Sourcetable, an AI-powered spreadsheet, eliminates the need for manual formulas and tedious calculations. Simply upload your data or connect your database, and let Sourcetable's AI chatbot handle the analysis. The platform excels at creating spreadsheets from scratch, generating sample data, and producing stunning visualizations.

Sourcetable transforms spreadsheet work by allowing you to communicate naturally with AI. Instead of memorizing formulas and features, you can simply tell Sourcetable what you want to analyze. The AI understands your needs and delivers accurate results instantly, regardless of your data size or complexity.

Sign up for Sourcetable now and let AI answer all your spreadsheet questions instantly.



Sourcetable Logo

Work smarter, not harder

Boost your productivity with Sourcetable's AI spreadsheet assistant. Answer all your questions about spreadsheets in seconds. Try for free to get started.

Drop CSV