3 ways to get in the WFH zone 🧑‍💻

Plus: Learn to create GIFs!

Hello! Today’s edition is a pretty big deal: It’s our 50th Miss Excel newsletter. 🥲 I launched The Workbook last August and it’s been a wild ride. 214,000 subscribers, hundreds of hours spent writing, and dozens of Excel (and life!) tips later, thank you for being here. Cheers to the next 50! 🥂

How to Create GIFs

For months I’ve had readers message me asking how I create GIFs (like this one below!) in this newsletter. 👇

I got you. Nailing this process entailed quite the learning curve, but I’ll teach you how to do it in under five minutes.

To create these GIFs, I use a platform called Camtasia. FYI, it’s around $180 a year for an account but they offer a free trial if you want to check it out before committing.

Making GIFs takes a few steps, but I promise if you take them slowly you’ll get the hang of it in no time. 😎

Step 1) First, you’ll want to change the background from default black to white. To do this, go to the top of the canvas (where the percentages are). Then, hit “Project Settings,” change the color to white (that’s #FFFFFF), and hit “Apply.” 

Step 2) To record your GIF, press “Record” in the top right corner of Camtasia. Once you’re done, press F3 to stop the recording. Your video will automatically go into the “Media Bin.” 

Step 3) Time to format! The “Crop” button crops your video. The “Hand” button allows you to zoom in. The “Arrow” option lets you center your GIF.

Step 4) Select the portion of the video you want to create as a GIF.

💡 Camtasia Tip: For the best quality, keep your videos under 15 seconds.

Step 5) Next, save your GIF! Right-click on the blue section and select “Produce Timeline Section As.” Ensure the page says “Custom production settings” and hit “Next >.”

Step 6) Finally, apply the following settings for each page that comes up:

  • “How would you like to produce your video?” ➡️ Select “GIF - Animation File”

  • “Animated GIF Encoding Options” ➡️ Insert a frame rate of 15

  • “Video Size” ➡️ Select Custom, and insert a width of 1280 and a height of 720

  • “Video Options” ➡️ Select “Next >” 

  • “Produce Video” ➡️ Title your project under “Production Name” and select “Finish” 

Phew—we covered a lot of ground! If you need an extra tutorial, I highly recommend this YouTube video. It taught me everything I know about Camtasia. Now go out there and do your thing! 🎥

3 Easy, Science-Backed Ways To Boost Your WFH Motivation

I love WFH (currently writing this from bed). But I won’t lie—the transition from office office to home office flipped my meaning of “productivity” upside down.

I used to get dressed, commute, and do my job alongside co-workers. The whole ritual of fancy clothes, mental preparation, and co-working spaces got your girl in the z-o-n-e.

I quickly realized my productivity ritual in the office wouldn’t fly while WFH. So? Here are the three things I did (that science approves of!) to get in the WFH zone and reclaim my productivity:

1. Declutter 🧹 According to the Journal of Neuroscience, people are less productive when exposed to excessive clutter. Your brain likes order—use that to your advantage!

2. Dress up 👩‍✈️ Bad news for my pajama workers. A study from the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found that our clothes influence our behaviors. In other words, wearing clothes you associate with a successful workplace (so definitely not pajamas) can boost your performance.

3. Dance 🎶 The case for keeping your Spotify subscription: Research found that people who listen to music at work complete tasks faster and get better ideas than those who don’t listen to anything. Music without lyrics—think classical, ambient, jazz, etc.—tends to increase concentration best.

  • Creating a Progress Tracker in Excel is a lifesaver for those performance reviews. 🤝

  • This time of year is perfect for the Rose, Bud, and Thorn exercise. The Product Boss outlines how to engage in this meaningful mid-year check-in here.*

  • A Reddit post you’ll definitely want to read: “What’s one valuable thing you do with OneNote that others don’t know?”

  • How to craft an OOO email that’ll stop your coworkers from messaging you.

  • On my to-do list today: Have fun. Here’s why it should be on yours, too!

  • I loved this Danny Miranda podcast with entrepreneur Alex Hormozi on how to reprogram your mind. 🤩

*This is sponsored advertising content.

Love this reframe on what you should do the next time you feel you aren’t being “productive enough!”

Stay Exceling,

Kat