Ok for any given row, I want to turn colums B:M green if columns L:M
are not blank. In other words, when I enter something in any cell in
columns L:M, I want those cells as well as the cells to the left of
them to turn green (except A, but I could be flexible there if I had
to)

I've tried =NOT(ISBLANK($L:$M) on B:M and several other combinations
but none work. I'm thinking I'm having trouble finding a formula that
doesn't make Excel wait on the ENTIRE colums L:M be filled in. It
needs to trigger only if the columns in a particular row are filled
in.

Does this make sense the way I've said it?