Ahh, nothing like a good pep talk to make you feel validated. When I can't cheer you on, try data validation tools to add "dropdown menus" inside of your spreadsheets. Google Sheets and Excel users will both find something of value here. Read more for useful tips and tutorial videos.
Year end fundraising! Now what?
It's 2019... do you know who your donors are? You have new data about your donors... and a LOT of it. But how do you take a list of hundreds or even thousands of donations and turn them into helpful statistics and meaningful insights? Here's my top tips for donation spreadsheets, served with a smile and side of puns and gifs.
festival of lights (or, sequentially numbering rows in your spreadsheet)
How to use spreadsheets to sequentially number your rows (x+1 or date +1) OR undo it! Come for the gifs, stay for the puns!
Ifs, Ands, AND Buts
Here's a recipe for how to use Pivot Tables, VLOOKUPs, If Statements, and the Concatenate function to take bigger data sets and manipulate them, saving you TONS of time so you can get back to organizing or putting your feet up. Plus, some lessons on segmentation. And some puns!
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!
how spreadsheets can make you a better mentee
There's certainly plenty of resources about how to be a mentor, how to pick a mentor, or why to seek out mentorship in the first place, but what about tips about how to be a good mentee? Here's a spreadsheet I use to keep track of mentorship commitments and make sure I show up as a good mentee!
a seat at the table
What should you do if the built in Excel Table Styles don't match your colors or preferences? Create a Custom Table Style, of course! Here's a post that walks you through the "how" and "why" to customize your table designs. Here's a hint- think about who else uses your spreadsheets besides just YOU! Come for the puns and stay for the data 🙂
5 days in 5 minutes
How to filter a list based on another list, featuring one of my favorite data tools... the VLOOKUP! Plus, some examples for how this tool can be used for political organizing, and the "pull rabbit out of the hat" meme makes another appearance.
now you see me, now you don’t
Have you ever played spreadsheet hide and seek with hidden columns, filter views, and more? Or have you ever needed to temporarily hide or restrict access to certain information? If yes, then this post is for you (plus, cute bunny gifs!)
