Candy = productivity 🍫

Hey there! After getting thousands of messages about hosting a beginner-friendly Excel class, I’m so excited to announce it’s finally happening! 

In this free live Excel class, I’m sharing tips to help you simplify Excel (buh-bye, Excel anxiety), build your confidence with the basics, and save up to 3 hours each week! 

Here are the dates: 

• Thursday, November 14 at 3 PM ET 

• Friday, November 15 at 12 PM ET 

Save your spot here. See you soon! 

Create Data That Pops With Custom Color Scales 🎨

What if I told you beautiful, easy-to-read data is just two minutes away? 👀

Introducing: Custom Color Scales. With just a few clicks, you can turn your raw numbers into color-coded insights.

Imagine a teacher who needs a lightning-fast way to see high and low scores. They’d love to create a custom color scale like this: ⤵

Easy. Here’s how to make one in under 30 seconds:

Now our (fictional) teacher can review test scores at a glance. How will you use custom color scales in your day-to-day? 👀 

Let’s Get Back to the (Excel) Basics 🎶 

Join my free live Excel class and in just one hour Excel will go from a source of overwhelm and confusion to confidence and joy. I’ll be sharing easy-to-understand tools that simplify Excel for you and boost your confidence—just like it did for these previous students!

If you want to start putting “Proficient in Excel” on your résumé (and mean it 😉), take the first step and sign up for class today!

What Kit Kats Can Teach Us About Productivity 🍫

The projects that move the needle in our lives tend to be major endeavors—writing a novel, studying to get into law school, learning a new language. For me? It was creating my first Excel course in 2020. I had to film over 100 training videos and build 50 practice files (all while balancing my 9–5). 🫠

If you’re like me, you get overwhelmed when faced with a gargantuan project—to the point where you throw in the metaphorical towel before even starting. So how do we squash that overwhelm and Get. Things. Done? 

Enter: the Kit Kat Framework. 🍫 Writer Amanda Goetz developed this strategy to help her write a book in just three months! Here’s the idea: 

Let’s use my Excel courses as an example. After identifying the big project, I split it into four main phases: Planning, Prepping (filming, outlining, content), Production, and Promotion. 

If the planning phase feels too daunting, I’d break it down into four more parts, starting with something smaller, such as “Define my course objectives.” 

If that part also feels overwhelming? I’d “Kit Kat” it again into four smaller tasks until each to-do is bite-sized and manageable. 

Eventually, your project (even if it’s Everest-sized!) shrinks enough for you to take that first step. And with each step, you get closer and closer—until suddenly, the summit is within reach. ⛰️

• Need to move your Pivot Table to a new tab? Here’s how. 

• I loved this reminder of what the real luxuries in life are. (Hint: ☕) 

• Tired of doing line-by-line edits in PowerPoint? Try this editing tip. 

• This DJ has been on repeat while I’m in productivity mode. 🎵

• Try this shortcut next time you have a long formula in Excel. 💡

Thanks for being here! And happy (belated) 39th birthday to Excel! 🎂

Excel’s age is a big deal—most software doesn’t last two decades (who else remembers Napster, AOL Instant Messenger, or MySpace?). 

Here’s to another 39 years! And if you’re ready to build skills that last just as long as Excel itself has, join my free live Excel class for beginners! Can’t wait to see you there.

Stay Exceling,

Kat