You can improve your work efficiently by using a drop-down calendar for data collection. The drop-down calendar can significantly minimize the data entry errors for dates.
Step 1: Click "Insert" from "Developer" Tab (please see how to bring "Developer" Tab to Ribbon);
Step 2: Select "More Controls" from the "Insert" list;
Step 3: Select "Microsoft Date and Time Picker Control 6.0 (SP6)" from the list;
Step 4: Click "OK" at the bottom. You will notice the mouse cursor is changed to a small black cross "+". Draw a square or click anywhere in the worksheet, and a box with date will appear. At the same time, the EMBED formula will also show up in the formula bar.
Step 5: Drage the box to the place where you want to put, and resize it to fit the cell;
Step 6: Click "Design Mode" from "Developer" Tab to activate the drop-down calendar;
Step 7: Click the small triangle and you can pick the date from the calendar;
Step 8: Setup the drop-down calendar properties by clicking the "Design Mode" and select the calendar box, then click the "Properties";
Step 9: Here are things you can set up through the properties:
1. Box size: you can set up the exact size you need by setup the values of Height and Width;
2. MinDate: setup the MinDate so that no date is prior to that date;
3. MaxDate: setup the MaxDate so that no date is after that date;
4. LinkedCell: link the drop-down calendar to a specific cell.