How to organize contacts and birthdays in Excel without getting lost

If you work with a contact sheet and you have trouble remembering important dates, Excel can become your best ally to make sure you don't forget to congratulate anyone. The trick is to automate who's birthday is today and highlight it in the table., so you can see it at a glance, without reviewing dates one by one.

Also, when you manage large listings, sort by months o weekdays It doesn't always work with a simple alphabetical order. Excel's built-in custom lists allow you to sort by months or days correctly., and you can also create your own lists (for example, High, Medium, Low or Sizes S, M, L, XL) to sort data according to a criterion that does not follow the alphabet.

Key ideas to get your bearings

• Compare month and day the date of birth with the current date is sufficient to detect birthdays.
• El conditional format gives a visual cue to instantly locate who to congratulate.
• Custom lists allow sort by months, days or categories like Priority or Size without alphabetical errors.

Automatically detect birthdays in Excel

To make the process convenient, we'll rely on simple formulas and a conditional formatting rule. The combination of both makes your blade “smart” without complicating your life. with no macros or strange configurations.

Step 1: Get your sheet ready

Open the book where you already have your contacts and their dates of birth. Ideally, you want a clear structure: names in column A and dates of birth in column BThis way, it'll be easy for you to apply formulas and rules without getting lost in the data.

Check that the dates are recognized by Excel as dates, not as text. If a date is in text, the comparison will fail even if it appears correct at first glance.A quick trick is to change the cell format to Date and see if the program interprets it correctly; if in doubt, consult the Guide to number formats in Excel.

Step 2: Put your data into context

In addition to your date of birth, you may want to record other useful information (such as addresses or telephone numbers) to have everything at hand when it's your turn notify your contactsThis doesn't interfere with birthday greetings, but it does save you time when you have to say a happy birthday.

In any case, to detect birthdays you do not need the year of birth. It only matters that the month and day match today's date., so forget about subtracting ages or more complex calculations.

Step 3: Test with a simple formula

Let's write a formula to check if someone's birthday is today. Its logic is straightforward: compare the month and the to date of the person's date with the month and day of TODAY()A typical option in Spanish is:

=Y(MES(B2)=MES(HOY());DIA(B2)=DIA(HOY()))

Place it, for example, in C2 and confirm. If it returns TRUE, that person's birthday is todayIf it returns FALSE, today is not your day.

Step 4: Compare month and day correctly

The function HOY() It gives you the current system date, and with MES() y DIA() you extract its parts. Note that we are not comparing years; just two numbers: month and day.This avoids complications with the birth year and works for any day on the calendar.

If you prefer, you could opt for a text-based check like TEXTO(B2;"dd-mm")=TEXTO(HOY();"dd-mm"), but the formula with MES() y DIA() It is cleaner and more direct. Stick with the one that is clearest to you..

Step 5: Be careful with the parentheses

Make sure that each function has its closure and that the structure of the Y() fits the comparisons well. An out-of-place parenthesis is the classic error that breaks the evaluation. Take a second look before filling it out.

Step 6: Complete the day condition

If you started by comparing only the month, also add the day comparison to make the condition accurate. The birthday only appears when the month and day coincide at the same time., just what he does Y() in the example formula.

Step 7: Apply the formula to the entire list

Once cell C2 is working for you, use the fill handle (bottom right corner of the cell) to drag the formula down to cover all of your contacts. Excel will replicate the comparison for each row without you having to write anything else.

Step 8: Auto-highlight with conditional formatting

To see it at a glance, let's color the current birthdays in green. Select the range you want the rule to act on (for example, the entire column B with birth dates or the entire table). Then, go to Conditional format and choose to create one New rule.

Choose the option of Use a formula to determine which cells forma tear and paste the formula you already tested, adjusting the relative/absolute references if necessary. Set a green fill for the TRUE case (when the condition is met) and save. As soon as you press OK, today's birthdays will be highlighted.

Step 9: Check the result

Review the list and confirm that the rows of people celebrating today appear in the correct format. If you don't see anything in green, today probably doesn't match any date. or there is some format/date detail to correct.

If something appears incorrect (e.g., names are highlighted that shouldn't be), check that the dates are being interpreted correctly by Excel and that the formula is using the correct column. A small reference mismatch (B2 vs. B$2 or $B2) can change the behavior of the rule.

Step 10: Resolve doubts and improve flow

Is something still not quite right or would you like to refine the page? Make a note of it and ask your team or the community for feedback. Feedback from other users helps to detect shortcuts and avoid silly mistakesYou can even ask questions in specialized Excel technical communities if you need to.

Practical tips for working more comfortably

If your list grows often, it is a good idea to convert it into Excel table (Ctrl+T). Tables automatically expand formulas and rules to new rows, so each new contact enters the circuit without you having to touch anything.

When using conditional formatting, label the rule with a clear name (for example, Today's birthday). This way, if you create other rules later (alerts, priorities, etc.) you will know which is which. and you will avoid stepping on them.

If you prefer to have a “birthday tomorrow” or “birthday this week” theme, you can adapt the approach. Simply compare the date of birth against TODAY()±1 or limit by number of days. Keep the logic of ignoring the year and focusing on the range of days/months.

Finally, consider adding a helper column with the month of birth (=MES(B2)) or another with the day (=DIA(B2)). These columns facilitate quick filters and graphs, which gives you an overview of birthday peaks throughout the year.

Sort by days, months, and categories with custom lists

Excel comes with pre-made custom lists for days of the week and months of the yearThanks to them, you can sort your data in natural order (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday... or January, February, March...), instead of alphabetically, which will mix everything up. You can also create your own lists to sort by priority or size., or by any sequence that does not follow the alphabet.

When to use built-in custom lists

Imagine a sheet with columns like Delivery (per month) y PriorityIf you try to sort the month column alphabetically, April might appear before February, which is useless if you want to see the actual calendar. A built-in custom list sorts January, February, March… in their correct sequence., and the same applies to Monday, Tuesday, etc.

Sort with an integrated step-by-step list

1. Select the columns you want to sort. Include headers if you have them so that Excel recognizes them in the dialog box.
2. On the ribbon, click Data > Filter to prepare the view and be able to sort precisely from the corresponding dialog box.
3. In the pop-up box of Order, on the list Sort by, choose the column you are interested in. For example, if you want to reorder by delivery date, select Delivery.
4. On the list Order, Select Custom list. This is how we tell Excel that we want to use a special sequence. (days or months) and not the alphabet.
5. In the cuadro of Custom lists, select the list you want (for example, January to December) and press Accept. The sheet will be arranged following that natural order..

Create your own custom list

When the criterion is not a month or a day, you can create a custom list, for example: High, Medium, Low o S, M, L, XL. Excel will use that sequence to sort where you select it.

1. In a blank column, write the values ​​in the exact order you want them sorted (top to bottom). That order defines the hierarchy.
2. Select all the cells you just typed and go to File > Options > Advanced.
3. Scroll down to the section General admission and click Edit custom lists…
4. In the window of Custom lists, press Import to bring that sequence from the selected cells. By accepting, the list will be available for sorting. on any page of the book.

Examples of use that save you time

If your contacts table has a column Priority To know who to call first, create the custom High, Medium, Low list and sort it with it. You won't have to recreate filters or manually remember what comes before or after..

For a communications calendar, sort by month using the built-in January–December list and, within each month, by day of the week. This is how you organize weekly tasks without the alphabet playing tricks on you..

Tips for ordering with custom lists

Check that the headings are correctly marked in the Sort dialog box. This prevents the first record from being mixed with the title row..

If you're going to reuse the criteria across multiple books, create the custom list once and make sure it's available in your profile. It is a minimal investment that multiplies your speed whenever you need it.

Remember that it is also possible create or delete a custom list whenever you need it, and use it to sort and autofill series in Excel. As soon as a sequence no longer makes sense, cleaning it up keeps your environment organized.

Are you missing something or need support?

If at any point the sorting does not behave as you expected or you have questions about the dialog Order, raise it around you or in communities of Excel experts. The Excel Tech Community and other technical support forums are often able to resolve specific cases quickly., and you can always check the features of your version there.

Integrate everything into your daily life

A workflow that works very well is: 1) detect today's birthdays with the formula; 2) highlight with conditional formatting; 3) sort by month or priority using custom lists; 4) filter who to contact and take action. With this circuit, your sheet goes from being a mere list to a panel that guides your work. focusing on what each day brings.

For shared sheets, accompany the table with a brief instruction tab (which column to edit, how to add a new contact, etc.). You prevent someone from breaking formulas or rules due to ignorance., and maintain consistency even if several people are editing at the same time; if you work with Outlook, learn to sync Outlook contacts so that everyone sees the same thing.