Want to cycle highlights in Google Sheets every day? Whether you’re rotating a meal plan, task list, or any repeating schedule, you can use conditional formatting to automatically highlight cells, rows, or columns in a repeating cycle.

For example, imagine you have a meal plan that rotates every 4 days:

• Day 1 ▶ Highlight Menu 1
• Day 2 ▶ Highlight Menu 2
• Day 3 ▶ Highlight Menu 3
• Day 4 ▶ Highlight Menu 4
• Day 5 ▶ Restart from Menu 1

This tutorial will show you how to cycle highlights in Google Sheets across:

• Rows (single cells or full rows)
• Columns (single cells or full columns)

Let’s get started!

Cycle Highlights in Google Sheets Across a Row

[Highlight one cell at a time in a row, moving from left to right daily]

Assume you want to rotate highlights across B3:E6 (4 columns wide).

Follow these steps:

Step 1: Generate a Date Sequence Across the Row

Enter the following formula in B1 to create a sequence of date values:

=SEQUENCE(1, 4, DATE(2025, 2, 16), 1)

Replace DATE(2025, 2, 16) with today’s date, not using the TODAY function, but in the format DATE(year, month, day).

Step 2: Apply Conditional Formatting

1. Select the range B3:E3
2. Go to Format > Conditional formatting
3. Choose “Custom formula is”
4. Enter this formula:

=AND(TODAY()=TODAY()-MOD(TODAY()-B$1,4))

5. Click Done

This formula ensures that the highlight moves one cell to the right daily and restarts after 4 days.

Cycle Highlights in Google Sheets for Entire Columns

[Highlight an entire column each day, cycling through a predefined range]

Instead of just highlighting one cell, you may want to highlight full columns daily.

For example, in B3:E6, each column represents a cuisine (B3:E3) with menu items for breakfast, lunch, and dinner listed below (B4:E6), as shown in the image below.

The same formula applies, but the key change is:

Step 1: Apply to the Entire Column Range

In Conditional Formatting, set “Apply to range” as B3:E6 instead of individual cells.

Everything else remains the same, and the highlight will move one column daily and restart after 4 days.

Cycle Highlights in Google Sheets Down a Column

[Highlight one cell at a time in a column, moving downward daily]

Assume you have a list of cuisines in B2:B5:

To highlight one cuisine per day, follow these steps:

Step 1: Generate a Date Sequence Down the Column

Enter the following formula in G2:

=SEQUENCE(4, 1, DATE(2025, 2, 16), 1)

Step 2: Apply Conditional Formatting

1. Select B2:B5
2. Go to Format > Conditional formatting
3. Choose “Custom formula is”
4. Enter this formula:

=AND(TODAY()=TODAY()-MOD(TODAY()-$G2,4))

5. Click Done

Cycle Highlights in Google Sheets for Entire Rows

[Highlight an entire row each day, cycling through a set range]

If you have menu items across the row, you may prefer to highlight entire rows rather than just one cell daily.

For example, in B2:E5, each row contains different meal options.

Step 1: Apply Conditional Formatting to the Entire Row

1. Select B2:E5
2. Go to Format > Conditional formatting
3. Enter the same formula:

=AND(TODAY()=TODAY()-MOD(TODAY()-$G2,4))

4. Click Done

Now, an entire row will be highlighted each day before cycling back.

FAQs on Cycle Highlights in Google Sheets

1. Can I cycle highlights in Google Sheets without conditional formatting?

No, the best way to cycle highlights automatically is by using conditional formatting with a custom formula.

2. How do I reset the highlight cycle in Google Sheets?

You don’t need to reset it manually—the formulas ensure the cycle continues automatically based on the date.

3. Can I cycle highlights in Google Sheets every X days?

Yes! You can adjust the formula to create an X-day repeating cycle (e.g., a 4-day cycle, 5-day cycle, etc.). This means the highlights will rotate through the specified number of days before starting over, rather than highlighting every Xth day. To customize the cycle length, replace 4 with your desired number in both the SEQUENCE formula and the conditional formatting rule.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we explored four different ways to cycle highlights in Google Sheets:

• Across rows (one cell or entire rows)
• Across columns (one cell or entire columns)

These formulas help automate rotating highlights for schedules, tasks, meal plans, or any recurring event.

Next Step: Observe the cycle for n+1 days to ensure it loops correctly.

Resources

• Highlight Recurring Dates in Google Sheets
• Date-Related Conditional Formatting Rules in Google Sheets
• Highlight Cells Based on Expiry Date in Google Sheets
• Highlight Earliest Events Based on Date Column in Google Sheets