I've taught a lot of Excel classes over the years. A lot. Different skill levels, different roles, different experience in the platform.
And pretty reliably, one reaction I still hear is...... "Wait... Excel can do THAT?"
It's rarely a big, complex formula or advanced data model. Those happen, sure, but that's not what often provokes the wide-eyed reaction and 'WOW' from the training participants.
It is often something shockingly simple. Something you might have learned years ago, or seen briefly, and then POOF, it was out of your brain.
Could be anything from AutoFill to Flash Fill to Filtering to Quick Analysis.
Little features that might save 30 seconds here or five minutes there.
But when you use Excel every day those minutes add up to big time savings.
Why you working so hard??
Without even knowing much about you (other than you have great taste in blogs that you read thankyouverymuch), I bet you have some wild little shortcuts. Lots of us that use Excel have tried to find our own ways of getting things done.
Rather than, oh I don't know, learning a true path to ease, we create our own. Things like copying and pasting information manually, re-typing patterns down a column, scanning hundreds of rows looking for information (we're ALL guilty of this one!), manually coloring cells that meet certain conditions or creating formulas for answers Excel could provide another way.
I mean, it does work. You get the outcome you need, hours spent at the computer be damned.
But I'm here to tell you that there might be a much easier way.
Let me give you an example, Friend
As I mentioned, I've done a lot of training. And through the years, we've covered SO much Excel content. I've reflected on trainings and refined the process regarding what we cover in Excel Tips, Tricks & Shortcuts Part 1.
One exciting discovery is how much users can accomplish without immediately jumping into formulas.
Need a quick total, average, or count? You may not need a formula at all.
Need Excel to recognize a pattern? Try Flash Fill.
Need to extend dates, numbers, or sequences? AutoFill might do the heavy lifting.
Nobody doing this is a seasoned MS expert, spending years mastering the craft of Excel.
These are everyday time savers that even the most basic of operators can use.
Next up, take control of your data
When we reach Excel Tips, Tricks & Shortcuts Part 2, we start helping people manage the information they already have.
This might include sorting, filtering, conditional formatting, working with views, managing worksheets and workbooks.
Mastering any of these doesn't make you an advanced Excel user.
It does make you work smarter, not harder, and save more time in real time.
And really, that's the point. Be efficient and work with ease.
The answer isn't 'more Excel'
Even our most basic Excel friends walk away empowered. With new tools and knowledge they can use RIGHT NOW.
You don't need to learn 'more Excel', you need to know more about the Excel you already have.
That's why I love teaching this class and why it's so fun and effective.
We don't need an office full of experts. We need our current users, the everyday people on the job, to discover faster, easier ways to accomplish the work they're already doing.
And I'd be lying if I said that I can't wait to hear "WHERE HAS THAT BEEN ALL MY LIFE?" At least once in class.
At LEAST.