It’s not every day that I find myself in a Costco parking lot with nothing to do but wait for my daughter to wake up.

And yet, being flexible and ready to work on some tasks for just such an occasion has allowed me the space for some expected and welcomed productivity.

Not bad for a Monday afternoon, right?

Interestingly, it has always been helpful for me to have different categories of tasks (e.g. personal, official business / administrative tasks, work/business, etc.) to create a mental framework of what I’m working on. It also helps me get in the mental “zone” and create some productivity momentum in one specific category instead of switching around from one category to another.

Over the years, it has also been helpful for me to ensure I have the right tools for the right task, at the right time. For example, my phone is perfect for on-the-go tasks or unexpected quiet time. Having said that, sometimes I really do need my computer and a spreadsheet to be open, for any kind of detailed analysis or projections/calculations.

Bottom line?

Always be prepared for productivity even in the unexpected downtime.

Otherwise, if you’re anything like me, you’ll find yourself mindlessly scrolling through social media without moving the needle forward for your business or your personal life.

And that would not be a great way to spend the day, wouldn’t you say? 🙂

#productivity #beflexible #naptimequiettime #parentwisdom #excelwell #sharetheexcellove

Asking me to predict what my kids will choose to play with is like asking me to predict the winning Powerball numbers.

Simply ain’t worth the effort.

Who would have known that my son Barak would find Tupperware more entertaining than toys and books?!?

The lesson for me is instead of trying to predict what he will like, create a safe space for him to explore, experiment, and discover what he likes on his own. This means that in this context, my role is more supportive and behind the scenes than it is an active and center stage.

For my Excel clients and students, I do my best to instill in them an understanding of how to play a supportive role with the spreadsheets they create for their clients and stakeholders.

Let the end-user explore on their own, and be ready to adapt the spreadsheet to better meet their needs and interests as they become more clear.

Has your child or stakeholder ever surprised you by showing interest in something you never thought they would? I would love to hear about it in the comments.

#unpredictable #letthemlead #stayflexible #parentwisdom #excelwell #sharetheexcellove

Letting my kids get messy while eating is the cleanest decision I can make as a parent.

Allow me to explain.

Barak is right at the beginning of his super messy eating phase.

Amina is fortunately on the other side of her messy journey, where she feeds herself in a mostly clean manner. This not only keeps the mess to a minimum, it also frees up our time as parents to do other things while she eats.

Pretty awesome if you ask me.

If you lead a team, my advice to you is simple: let them get as messy as possible with their spreadsheets. Be sure to make copies first so they can make mistakes and break things with zero negative impact. Eventually they will become more proficient, independent, and clean with their spreadsheets. But first, they have to get messy!

To find out more about Excel team training, leave a comment with the word “messy” and I’ll hook you up with all the details.

#messyeating #patience #itgetsbetter #parentwisdom #backups #excelwell #sharetheexcellove

It is nothing short of remarkable for me to see my kids constantly exploring their environment and learning non-stop.

They instinctively push every boundary and test every limit to understand how things work. Whether it’s Barak playing with a bag of potatoes on the floor in the kitchen, or Amina forming a new & complex sentence with little regard to grammar (because let’s be honest, English grammar can be anything but intuitive sometimes), children are on a mission to learn and grow as quickly as possible.

As an adult, I can admittedly be a little impatient when I don’t learn something instantly. Fortunately, my kids remind me that it is a PROCESS, and that it takes time. Even though I don’t see the improvement as fast as I would like, the exploration is a key component of the learning process.

Even with zero guidance, if you just explore your spreadsheet, its vast number of features & formulas, you will learn.

Having said that, if you want to shortcut your learning process, I would be honored to be your guide on this sacred (albeit frustrating at times) journey.

#patience #learnbyexploring #parentwisdom #excelwell #sharetheexcellove

Sometimes the only way to resolve a cranky pants situation with my kids (or my spreadsheets) is to put on my detective hat.

I go step by step, isolate and test the variables, make small adjustments, and eventually solve the problem.

Cranky pants for my kids usually happens after they’ve been in one place for too long. To resolve, I mix up the environment, the activities/toys, check for a dirty diaper, etc.

Cranky pants for my spreadsheets usually happens after I make one critical change in the data structure, or even the name of a worksheet (if I didn’t set things up to be dynamic enough in advance). To resolve, I check each broken formula, make little adjustments, until it’s all working correctly.

If you’re in the middle of a spreadsheet cranky pants situation of your own, and would like an expert’s detective hat to help you resolve it, send me a message or leave a comment.

I’ll do an audit of your spreadsheet to find the obvious errors, and not so obvious ones, to save you time and headaches, so you can get back to your life.

#crankypants #detectivehat #excelaudit #avoidablefrusttation #savetime #parentwisdom #excelwell #sharetheexcellove