On the way to a client training session today I considered walking to the train station, until I remembered a quick and easy NYC transit hack:

bustime.mta.info

A website that lets you see the location of buses in real time, including estimates for arrival times. The best part is that this tool passed my AA Battery Test: it was both Accurate and Accessible.

Accurate because the bus was in fact less than 1 min away from my stop, and Accessible because it took me only a few seconds to find that out.

I have found that if you pass only one of these AA tests without the other, the net result is worthless.

Fortunately, this tool helped me make a better, more informed decision to catch the bus and save valuable minutes on my journey to my in-person client training session.

Turning to spreadsheets, there are a few tips to keep in mind with regard to the AA Battery Test.

ACCURATE Tips:

1. Leverage Formula Audit Mode (aka “Show Formulas”). This gives you a temporary view of all the formulas on your current worksheet, to help easily spot common errors and fix them.
2. Include intentionally redundant formulas to perform the same calculation using a different approach, and check to see whether the two answers are equal. This is a great way to double check your work and help ensure you are getting the right answer.
3. Stress test your spreadsheet to try and break it. For example, enter unexpected values into cells or try to interact with your spreadsheet in unexpected or unusual ways to see if it can handle it, and ensure you are still getting the right answers.

ACCESSIBLE Tips:

1. Organize & structure your data well. Create backups and versions of workbooks, clearly label your folders, file names, sheet names, column headers, etc, and fundamentally lay out your data in the way Excel needs to see it. For example, for data tables always use columns as types of data, and rows as individual instances or records of that data across all the columns/data types.
2. Format your spreadsheet well so it is free of distractions. Keep it Simple, Intuitive, Consistent, and Optimized (when it comes to formatting, be a “SICO”). I teach a 2 hour class just on this topic.
3. Acquire and maintain a baseline of knowledge and skills to accomplish fundamental Excel tasks. In other words, be able to get what you need done, or at least know how to learn more. I also teach a multi-part class on the fundamental skills of Navigation, Formatting, and Formulas.

So the next time you find yourself working on an important spreadsheet project, ask yourself “Does this spreadsheet pass the AA Battery Test?”

If this helped you, I invite you to share the excel love with someone who could benefit from hearing it.

#mtaforthewin #excelaudit #intentionalredundancy #stresstest #excelorganization #excelwell #sharetheexcellove

As a parent of 2 young children, I can safely say that nothing is more luxurious than eating lunch by myself, outside on a beautiful day. If you’re a parent you already understand. If you aren’t, enjoy your freedom :).

But it wasn’t all fun and games for me today, I had a laundry list of errands to run. And if I wasn’t careful and highly efficient with my time, that luxurious lunch would end up biting me in the rear end. For example, if I went to Costco first, the groceries would be sitting in a hot car for too long. The strawberries and salmon probably wouldn’t appreciate that none too much.

Fortunately, I was able to optimize my time by dropping off my wife first, getting the car inspected, and then stopping by Target to drop off an old car seat. When I saw a Shake Shack in the Target shopping center, I immediately shifted gears from my original plan and proceeded to indulge in my luxurious, solitary lunch.

The point is, I knew what had to get done, and I knew my constraints (e.g. time, location, temperature requirements for the groceries, etc), and was able to work within that and ensure the correct order of errand operations for the day. Mission accomplished!

Now, in math there is also an order of operations, famously known as PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction). Fortunately, Excel adopted this standard instead of reinventing the wheel.

The most important element here in Excel is the parentheses, because they have the power to FORCE certain calculations to occur before others within formulas.

For me, my wife was a parentheses, and while that sounds absolutely terrible, I mean it in the most positive way possible. If I did not drive her first she would be late for her meeting, so I put her in parentheses and jumped her to the top of the errand list :).

One quick Excel point – only use parentheses in your formula if they are actually necessary. If your formula calculates correctly without them, leave them out. Too many parentheses will still work inside a formula, but they will add clutter and create unnecessary confusion.

May your errands, both in and outside of the spreadsheet, be smooth and efficient, leveraging the best possible order of operations.

#metime #errands #parentluxuries #parentwisdom #PEMDAS #ordermatters #excelwell #sharetheexcellove

Same path, new perspective

On this beautiful spring day at the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, I can’t help but marvel at the serenity of this oasis amidst the chaos of the city.

Funny thing is, I have walked this exact path before, just this past winter. Yet, not surprisingly, it looks nothing like it does today now that the flowers are blooming. I am blessed with an entirely new adventure during this different season of the year.

I have experienced this same phenomenon with many Excel projects over the years. For example, something as simple as an updated data import has dramatically impacted the results of my spreadsheet. Even my current mood and level of focus plays a major role in the way I interact with, and how I leverage the power of spreadsheets.

If you would like a completely different perspective on your current spreadsheet, from your friendly neighborhood Excel expert, leave a comment with “same path” and I’d be happy to share a new perspective.

#botanicalgardens #spring #daffodils #perspective #excelwell #sharetheexcellove

I am clearly a new car owner, because until a few days ago I had no idea that I have to perform an annual New York State safety inspection. If I don’t, I could face fines, and will also not be able to renew my car registration.

Interestingly enough, learning this actually made me happy, despite the hassle of spending time out of my day to get the car inspected, because it meant that everyone else is subject to the same rigorous procedures.

Not only do all individual car owners benefit from this, but everyone else benefits as well because it reduces the number of accidents and injuries.

So why is there nothing like this in Excel?!?

To be fair, I believe it would be quite an overreach for some regulatory agency to swoop in and require quality control over your private spreadsheets.

Having said that, instead of an annual safety inspection, perhaps a self-directed annual CLARITY inspection could be a positive thing.

How many times have you received a spreadsheet from a colleague or a client, and had no idea what you were looking at?

Sadly, it happens to me all the time.

The number one step we can take to address this issue?

Labels!

Use comprehensive and succinct labels for everything in your spreadsheet. For example:

1. Sheet names
2. Headers for all your columns in your data tables
3. Labels next to complex formulas

And the list goes on and on.

Even if you don’t plan on sharing your spreadsheet with anyone, using labels will help your future self understand what you were doing.

Plus, once you develop the habit it takes almost no time or effort, and has a huge payoff down the road.

Looking for another pair of eyes to check the clarity of your spreadsheets? Comment with “clarity inspection” and we can get the clarity ball rolling.

#carownerlife #safetyfirst #clarity #labels #sharingspreadsheets #excelwell #sharetheexcellove

Eight full days after a visit to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, and we are all still suffering from the stubborn virus we picked up during our trip.

In an ideal world, only healthy children would visit these museums, and even then everything would be thoroughly and regularly disinfected to prevent any diseases from spreading.

In reality, our experience at any children museum has been a 100% chance of an enjoyable trip, along with a 100% chance of infection.

As we continue to nurse ourselves back to health, I encourage everyone to think about their Excel spreadsheets, and all the “Excel germs” that might be lurking in the shadows. Specifically:

1. Do you have inconsistencies in your data?
2. Is your data structured in an organized and scalable manner?
3. Do you have various errors or broken formulas that you haven’t fixed yet?

If you answered “YES” to any of these, I highly encourage you to scrub and sanitize your spreadsheet.

That way, your future self, and anyone else you planned on sharing your workbook with will not get “infected” with the extra work and hassle of cleaning up those mistakes later.

Not sure where to start? Leave a comment briefly describing your Excel germs, and I’ll see how I can help you make a full and speedy recovery.

#goodtimes #natureofthebeast #excelgerms #savetime #excelwell #sharetheexcellove