How to Track Your Progress on a YouTube Playlist
YouTube does not track playlist progress well. Four ways to do it, from a spreadsheet to Notion to a course tool, and what to track besides watched.
If you are working through a 70-video course on YouTube, you have probably lost your place at least once. YouTube shows a red progress bar on videos you have opened, but it does not tell you how much of the playlist you have completed, which videos you skimmed, or which ones you meant to revisit. This page covers what YouTube does and does not do, four practical ways to track progress, and what is actually worth tracking.
What YouTube gives you (and does not)
**What you get:** the red bar under thumbnails showing how much of an individual video you watched, resume-where-you-left-off on most videos, watch history, and the ability to save a playlist to your library. **What you do not get:** a completion percentage for the playlist, a way to mark a video done without watching it to the end, any distinction between "watched" and "understood," or notes. The red bar can also be misleading: skipping to the end of a video to check its length can mark it as watched. For entertainment, that is fine. For a course you want to finish, it is not enough.
Option 1: A spreadsheet
Free, flexible and works offline. Create one row per video with these columns: | # | Title | Duration | Status | Date done | Revisit? | Notes link | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| Use status values like *Not started*, *Watched*, *Practiced*. Add a cell at the top that counts completed rows and divides by total rows for a completion percentage. **Downside:** you have to copy the video titles in by hand, which is tedious for long playlists, and it is easy to stop updating it.
Option 2: Notion or Obsidian
A Notion database (or an Obsidian note with a checklist) works like the spreadsheet but lets you attach notes to each video. Many learners like having a page per lesson with screenshots and code snippets. **Downside:** setup takes time, and the notes are not linked to timestamps in the video unless you paste timestamp links manually.
Option 3: A paper checklist
Underrated. Print the list of video titles, stick it on the wall, and tick each one off. Visible progress is motivating, and it takes zero setup beyond copying the list. It does not help with notes or review, but it does solve "where was I?"
Option 4: A tool built for this
Filow imports a YouTube playlist from its URL and turns it into a course: every video is listed, progress is tracked per video and for the whole course, and you can take notes tied to timestamps inside the player. It also generates quizzes and flashcards per video, and gives you a completion certificate at the end. **Downside:** it is another app to use, and no tool does the practice for you.
What to track besides "watched"
Watched is the weakest signal of progress. More useful things to record: - **Practiced:** did you write the code, play the exercise, or solve the problem from the video? - **Confidence:** a quick 1 to 3 rating. Anything rated 1 goes on a revisit list. - **Quiz score:** a short self-test after each video shows what actually stuck. - **Time spent:** helps you predict how long the rest of the course will take. If 10 videos took 15 hours, the remaining 40 will take roughly 60. Review your tracker once a week. If you are consistently behind schedule, change the schedule rather than abandoning the course.
Questions people ask
Does YouTube show progress for a whole playlist?
No. It shows a progress bar on each individual video you have started, but not a completion percentage for the playlist.
How do I mark a YouTube video as watched?
YouTube marks videos as watched based on viewing; there is no manual "mark as done" button. A spreadsheet, Notion or a tool like Filow lets you mark completion yourself.
What is the best way to track a YouTube course?
For a short playlist, a paper or spreadsheet checklist is enough. For long courses where you also want notes and self-testing, a dedicated tool saves time.
Can I track progress on private or unlisted playlists?
Manual methods work with any playlist you can watch. Import tools generally need the playlist to be public or at least accessible by link.
Learn Track from YouTube, in order.
Paste a playlist into Filow and see your completion percentage, notes and quizzes in one place.