Today I wanted to focus on time-saving skills and tricks that will supercharge your spreadsheet powers and save you time. Understanding and modifying Excel's "default settings" can get you well on your way to a spreadsheet that works for you, instead of the other way around.
kvetching/researching about airlines
How do airlines work? Why are flight prices always changing? Are airlines actually "profitable?" and why all of this should matter to changemakers. Finally, 5 tips for more affordable air fares.
clean up in column 5!
9 tips for getting your spreadsheet data in tip-top shape. Especially useful for cleaning petition data!
taking data seriously
Uncensored & unsolicited advice about why changemakers should take data seriously ASAP - so that we can reach the right people at the right time, save money and frustration, and WIN!
home, home on the range
Whether you use spreadsheets for household budgeting, workout routines, live performances of your favorite band, or cross-country road trips - many of us have personal spreadsheet projects besides our changemaking spreadsheet projects. In this post, we use my Kitchen Utensils wishlist to dig into how to design a good spreadsheet (rows and columns) to capture the data of your dreams.
much ado about nothing
Today's post is all about how to find empty cells in your spreadsheet. You might be giving me a blank stare from behind your computer screen, but if I were you, I wouldn't a-void this post! #PunsIntended This post is chock-full of useful tips that you can apply to projects like data cleaning, volunteer on-boarding, and even getting better donation stats.
Dupes / dupes / dupes (Excel)
Part 3 in a mini-series exploring the great, big world of “de-duping” – or, how to handle repeated info in a spreadsheet or database. In this installment: using Microsoft Excel to highlight duplicates and summarize data.
Data cleaning is a “contact” sport
Like contact sports, "Contact Segmentation" has rules to learn and skills to develop... and sometimes it can make you feel sore/grumpy/bruised. In this post, I offer 4 "Rules of the Game" and 3 Skills that will help you make it to the clean data finish line.
Re-member-ships
Some ideas for "best practices" on managing memberships from The Spreadsheet Whisperer. If you structure your data properly, you won't have to remember when people re-member. Are you with me?
Duped, again!
Part 1 in a mini-series exploring the great, big world of “de-duping” - or, making sure that you don’t repeat the same information twice in a spreadsheet or database. This post includes "instant-gratification" links to tried and true de-duping resources.
