Believe me, I have complete understanding for why you might not want to tackle that data junk drawer. That being said, I believe there are friendly, empowering, efficient ways to move through a data cleaning process. The first step is a mindset shift from thinking "we have already failed at this aahhhhhhh!" to "this is a normal, friendly, empowering way to take good care of our community!" Let's normalize data cleanup so we don't have to normalize data.
shape shifter
From a downloaded file with weird fonts and titles, wacky colors, no wrapped text, superwide columns, and repeating header rows, I was able to create a useable, sortable, shareable, printable, filterable, not-make-you-want-to-throw-your-computer-out-the-window spreadsheet. And you know what the best part is? You can too!
resource roundup + cool job alert
What do a camel, a mermaid, and an awesome job opportunity have in common? You'll have to read this post to find out, chock full of tips, gifs, puns and more!
Dear Spreadsheet Whisperer: Quickbooks, MS Access, and Spreadsheets, oh my!
In this installment of Dear Spreadsheet Whisperer, we hear from an old friend who's storing contact information in.... Quickbooks! I offer advice about how to make better use of contact segmentation features and how to begin to explore a better database system.
“Change management” for change-makers
What does the moon, popcorn, and caterpillars have in common? Changing phases, of course! This post is all about getting better at change management. BONUS: my favorite lil dumpster fire meme makes a cameo appearance!
do these data spark joy?
Inspired by Marie Kondo's new show about tidying your home, a post about keeping and deleting data in your spreadsheets and databases. With puns and gifs!
Do you learn from your mistakes?
What is a mistake? Let's use the etymology to learn some lessons about mistakes and spreadsheets. Plus, puns and a recommendation for learning more.
mixed messages
On one hand, data skills are impossible to learn (and we blame the individual). On the other hand, companies tell us that advanced coding skills are easy to develop, 1, 2, 3! How can these be true at the same time? Who benefits from these messages? It's classic capitalism doublespeak: make non-data people feel insignificant and intimidated, then sell us a solution to our problem.
I call BULLSHIT on these dynamics and offer 8 tips for wrangling a sloppy spreadsheet that you can use right away!
clean up in column 5!
9 tips for getting your spreadsheet data in tip-top shape. Especially useful for cleaning petition data!
