How to manage your energy ⚡️

Plus: Eliminate duplicates in Excel, fast

March 07, 2024

Hey there! How do you feel when you open Excel? 

If you’re anxious, stressed, or frustrated, I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be that way. There is a world where Excel is your friend—one where it saves you hundreds of hours a month, makes your job a breeze, and impresses your boss (hello, promotion 😉). 

To get there, come to my free live Excel class! In just 60 minutes, you’ll learn how to optimize and automate your spreadsheets with Data Cleaning and VBA Macros. 

Here’s the class schedule: 

  • Wednesday, March 20 at 3 PM ET 

  • Thursday, March 21 at 12 PM ET 

  • Friday, March 22 at 12 PM ET 

Save your seat today. Can’t wait to see you! 

If you can’t attend live, you’ll get the automatic 48-hour replay once you register! 

How I Created My Own Microsoft Excel Legend Using Microsoft Designer 

The Microsoft Excel World Championship might be over (congratulations, Andrew Ngai!) but the Excel world is still teeming with unsung heroes. 

From the Pivot Pros, to Table Titans, to Never-Mousers, these Excel legends are everywhere, turning complex spreadsheets into one-click victories. 

But more legends are out there—and need you to bring them to life. 

With Microsoft Designer, you can create your own Microsoft Excel Legend. To get started, simply click on the suggested prompt of the legend that best aligns with your Excel superpowers and sign into Microsoft Designer to customize. 

And if you don’t see a legend that resonates? Whip up your own by describing what you’d like to see! 

The templates make it fast, free, and easy—my Microsoft Excel Legend is based on the Speed Matcher (IYKYK 😉). 

What’s your unique Excel superpower? Use Microsoft Designer and find out today!

Duplicates in Excel? Never Heard of Her. 

Time to whip out the magnifying glass. 🔍 Can you spot all the duplicates on this Excel spreadsheet? 

Instead of staring at the screen (and frying your eyeballs), let me show you how to automatically remove duplicates in Excel. This data cleaning tip is a lifesaver if you deal with imported spreadsheets (which tend to be jam packed with duplicate values). 

Ready? Let’s dive in! 

Step 1) Highlight your data set. 

Step 2) Under the Home tab, select Conditional Formatting. 

Step 3) Click Highlight Cell Rules and Duplicate Values. A box will automatically appear notifying you that duplicate cells will be filled in red. Press OK. 

Step 4) Navigate to the Data tab. Select Remove Duplicates under Data Tools. 

Step 5) Click on the column where you’d like to remove duplicates. Press OK. 

Easy, right? Here’s to never wasting another afternoon straining your eyes to spot duplicates. 🙃 

P.S. — This data-cleaning tip is just one of the many we’ll cover in next week’s free live Excel class! Don’t forget to save your seat right here.

How to Bring 100% of Your Energy to Every Task

Have you ever cleared your schedule to get something done, but when you finally sat down to do it, you Just. Couldn’t. Focus? Not even noise-canceling headphones, “Energizing Focus Mix” on Spotify, or a double-shot of espresso could save you. 

Been there, done that, and now I know exactly why it happens: 

We often focus on managing our time—when we should be managing our energy. 

We all have 24 hours in a day. But how are you showing up during those hours? Are your energy levels at 30%? 50%? Or can you give a task your full 100%? Energy levels are crucial to productivity—a four-hour time block means nothing if you’re falling asleep at your laptop. 

This is where energy management comes in. Energy management is how you optimize your schedule to show up at 100% for every task. Here’s what that looks like for me: 

1. On Sunday nights, I brain-dump all my to-dos for the week.

2. I tag each task as either a “left-brain” or “right-brain” activity. 

3. Finally, I’ll organize my schedule into “left-brain” or “right-brain” days.

Brain 101 🧠: The left hemisphere of your brain is responsible for logic, comprehension, and is more quantitative and analytical. Meanwhile, the right hemisphere is the go-to for all things creativity and abstract thinking. 

• Left-Brain Days ➜ I have my hair in a bun and I’m chugging Starbucks while cranking on my computer. These days are dedicated to left-brain tasks: administrative to-dos, such as reading over contracts, organizing invoices, and editing spreadsheets. 

• Right-Brain Days ➜ I’m tapping into my creativity. These are the days for right-brain tasks: coming up with content ideas, creating new Miss Excel courses, or leading live classes. 

Why does this work? When you try to cram left- and right-brain activities into the same day, you’re constantly context-switching—and it takes ~23 minutes to get refocused after task-switching. That adds up a lot, especially when you realize that we’re only *really* productive for three hours a day.

By dedicating full days to one type of task, you avoid context-switching. This means you can stay focused for longer, preserving your energy levels to the fullest. 

My schedule looks like this by the end: Left brain tasks are 🔵, right brain tasks are 🟠, and 🟣 is just for me time!

Not only will managing your energy boost your productivity levels, but it’ll enhance your creativity, too. If you don’t believe me, try it out for yourself! 

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  • The book by Dr. Joe Dispenza that hands-down changed the trajectory of my life. 

  • Did you know you could add emoji reactions in Outlook? 😌

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See you at my VBA Macros and Data Cleaning class! I have no doubt that these tips will save you hundreds of hours with work and absolutely change the game for you. Grab your seat to the Excel live class right here. 

Stay Exceling,

Kat