Using Spreadsheets to Organize

Organization. It's what gets my blood pumping. It's what gets my heart racing.

Ok, I exaggerate, but not by much. 

I love organizing stuff. If something can be organized, it will be organized. (Disclaimer: this does NOT mean I'm not messy...) One of the best ways you can use excel spreadsheets is to organize ideas, thoughts, or items. 

In my previous posts about spreadsheets, I've discussed Using Spreadsheets to List and Using Spreadsheets to Schedule. Now we all know, that these tasks can also be completed using a word document, and a virtual planner, respectively. But the absolute BEST way to ORGANIZE is by using Spreadsheets. 

Essentially, a spreadsheet is a pre-made table that you can merge and un-merge cells as needed. Additionally, you can change or update it indefinitely, color coordinate, or add bolder lines for categories or sections. 

Organizing for Planning Purposes. This is sort of a mix between organizing and scheduling. I use the spreadsheet shown below to help me stay on track at work. Each month I update our website based on specific safety topics. At the beginning of each month, I simply refer to my spreadsheet and determine what needs to be changed, updated, or deleted on the website. It makes this task very simple. Using Spreadsheets to Organize takes more time on the front end, but saves you time in the long run. 

Another example of Organizing for Planning Purposes is when you are in need of "filling up slots." (Sorry, I'm not very good at thinking today.... Let me just give you an example, and it will make more sense). When we were planning our wedding, we spent a lot of time picking out the specific songs we wanted played at specific times. To make it even more complicated, we both have pretty strong ideas about what "good music" sounds like. So, we decided that our music picks would be equal. This specific spreadsheet was on Google Drive so that we both had access whenever we needed it and could add songs as they came to us.

You will notice that this spreadsheet is a more common format of "the table" as opposed to "the matrix" style (shown in the spreadsheet above).

Organizing for Knowledge Purposes. One way I use spreadsheets is to gather information from different sources online and keep it all together in one document. These types of spreadsheets are perfect for a quick reference for a topic that you are extrememly interested in. 

A good example of Organizing for Knowledge Purposes is this spreadsheet that lists all of the Books of the Bible. Of course, I could look up all of these facts in my Bible concordance, or Google, as I need them. But instead, now its all in one place for me.

This type of spreadsheet is great if you are really into facts, or if you are interested to know how things are categorized. A normal person probably wouldn't make a spreadsheet just to have random information on it that you could look up anyway, but I say, why not cut out the middle man all together and create your own reference. #SpreadsheetsAreFun

Organizing for Trending Purposes. Another great way to use spreadsheets when it comes to organizing stuff is, to organize in order to visualize trends. I personally don't do this frequently, but when I do, its always beneficial and satisfying. Ok....so don't judge me on this example.

This example shows all of the seasons of Survivor with random things that have happened in each season. The show has been on the air for over 15 years, so obviously some things have changed and evolved, both with gameplay and "twists" that production adds. The spreadsheet shows the presence of said gameplay or twists, and it shows ME the trends. 

For example, as a Survivor fan, I can see that for the past 18 seasons, there have been 15 "final 3" situations, and only 3 "final 2" situations (The first 12 seasons were ALL "final 2" situations). SO I know that, at this point of the series, it is the most likely that there will be a "final 3" as opposed to a "final 2."

Sorry everyone for the nerd overload.... The last installment of this series will be coming before 2015 ends. It will be Using Spreadsheets to Calculate.

Other Spreadsheet Posts
Tips & Tricks | List | Schedule | Organize | Calculate