Guides

Free Reading Tracker for Google Sheets: How to Import and Use It

Updated October 31, 2026 · Research-informed, with sources below

A spreadsheet is a good home for a reading log. It's private, it's yours, and it won't shut down. Here's how to get our free tracker running in a couple of minutes.

Step 1: Get the file

Go to the Forgiving Reading Tracker Lite page on Gumroad. It's free; enter $0 if you like (paying is optional). Gumroad emails you the download link. The file is an .xlsx spreadsheet.

Step 2: Open it in Google Sheets

1. Go to sheets.google.com and sign in.
2. Open a blank spreadsheet, then choose File > Import.
3. Choose Upload and select the .xlsx file.
4. Choose Replace spreadsheet (or create a new one), then Import data.

Another way: upload the file to Google Drive, then open it with Google Sheets. In Excel, just open the file.

Step 3: Use it on your phone

Once it's in Google Sheets, open the same spreadsheet in the Google Sheets app. Logging works fine on a small screen.

Step 4: Log a session

Go to the Log tab and add one row: the date, the book, and pages, minutes, or both. One of those last two is enough. The Home tab fills itself in with what you're reading, where you left off, and your totals for the week, month, and year.

Why only three fields? Early research on cognitive load argued that working memory is limited, and that extra demands can get in the way of the main task[1]. That work was about problem solving, not forms, so keeping the log to three fields is a design choice we based on it.

Step 5: Come back whenever

There are no streaks. If you don't open the sheet for a month, the Home tab simply welcomes you back, and everything you logged is still there.

Privacy

The file collects and sends nothing. Gumroad asks for your email only to deliver it.