Why I Love Spreadsheets

I love spreadsheets

One caveat:  by spreadsheets, I mean Excel.  It’s the only one I’ve ever used aside from Google Sheets.  Sheets is great because it’s free and cloud based, so I can access it from any device, any time, but let’s face it, Sheets is definitely Excel’s ugly stepsister.

If I haven’t previously emphasized sufficiently what a huge geeky nerd I am, today’s blog is here to seal the deal.

I was recently helping a sales rep with a large, complex order, and I asked him if he had a spreadsheet to keep all his data straight.  He didn’t.  Can you believe it? Secretly (OK, not so secretly, shut up), I was pleased, because it meant I got to build the spreadsheet from scratch.  Woo-hoo.  And I was generous with that thing, let me tell you, I felt like Oprah:  “you get a copy, and you get a copy …” you know the drill.  When a similar order came in for the same customer a few months later, you better believe I whipped that thing out without hesitation.  Just to toot my own horn a tiny bit, it was a helpful tool for all sides of the deal, as spreadsheets tend to be.

Spreadsheets aren’t just for business.  Like SpongeBob quotes and Trump insults, there is just about one for every occasion. I have a spreadsheet for my groceries, my workout plan, my family’s schedule, and, one of my favorites, Thanksgiving dinner.  Don’t make the mistake of underestimating the power of a spreadsheet.

Why am I so enamored?  Allow me to elaborate:

I don’t have to do any math.  Excel does all my math for me.  Granted, I do have to let it know what math I want it to do, so it’s limited to my understanding of math (which is a pretty restrictive limitation).  But I have mountains of respect for the fact that the more math I understand, the more potential Excel has.

Grids - I need lists to keep track of anything, but sometimes a list on its own is insufficient for keeping me organized.  Put the information in a grid, though, with column and row labels and suddenly I am Organization Woman.  Much like Wonder Woman, but with more clothes and less need for bullet proof jewelry.  Throw in subtotals, totals, averages, filters, and sorting options and I become downright unstoppable.  Don’t doubt it.

Charts – care for a graphic illustration to make your data more user-friendly?  Excel has got your back.  Pie charts, lines, area, dots, a third axis, a 3-D view, data labels, call-outs.  Well, I mean, what do you need?  The options are both mind-boggling and enormously satisfying.

Pivot Tables – I was once asked in a job interview if I had ever worked with pivot tables, and I’m pretty sure the interviewer could hear me blink from across the room.  As soon as I got home, I looked up pivot tables, and let me tell you, dear reader, I did NOT understand them.  One day recently, though, I was playing with a spreadsheet that was giving me formatting problems because I had so much data that I needed to compile.  I was trying everything, so I threw a pivot table into the pot.  Eureka.  The pivot table was exactly what I needed, and my love for spreadsheets, already so effusive, grew even more that day. 

Formatting – to say that the formatting options are plentiful is an understatement.  Anyone has the ability to make their spreadsheet look like a professional presentation with just a few easy auto design clicks. 

Clearly I’m no mathematician or scientist, so for a puny layperson like myself, the potential of Excel’s spreadsheets are infinite.  I’ve almost always got one open on my desktop, and refer to them all day long for historical data, marketing trends, sales goals, and, of course, groceries.  Like the Fibonacci sequence, there is a beauty to order and structure, and for me, I find comfort in keeping my thoughts, my business, and my life organized.