Growth is a pendulum 🔃

Hey! I’m writing to you live from a virtual co-working session. And can I just say? They. Are. Amazing. 🤯

When you work around productive people (even if it’s only virtual!), your brain naturally synchronizes with their behavior through what psychologists call “social contagion.”

In other words? Productivity is contagious. So use it to your advantage!

Not Your Average Sort 👀 

Want to put “proficient in Excel” on your résumé (and actually mean it)? Here’s an easy Excel tip that separates the pros from the pretenders. Enter: Custom Sorting!

This feature comes in handy when you want to sort a list without using alphabetical or numerical order. For example, if you’re organizing by customer IDs, alphanumeric data, or…shirt sizes. 👕 

Here’s how you’d create a custom-sort table to organize by shirt size:

There you have it! Your custom-sort list is now ready for action. 🎬️ 

Unleash Your Team’s Potential With Excel

Picture your most efficient, Excel-savvy employee: the one who breezes through spreadsheets, catches mistakes before they become (very) expensive problems, and always delivers ahead of schedule. 🤩 

Now, imagine if your entire team operated at that level.

That’s not just wishful thinking—it’s exactly what I help leading organizations achieve with our Group Training Program!

I’ve worked with over 340 organizations such as Kraft Heinz, UPS, Amazon, TD Bank, Salesforce, Ulta Beauty, City of New York and the US Military to help each of their employees save at least 5-10 hours per week—and it’s appreciated by employers and employees alike (as Nicole will tell you!) ➡️

Ready to unlock your team’s true potential? Go here!

Growth Is a Pendulum 🔃

Ever notice how we expect learning to be this smooth, upward climb? 

In reality, learning is messy. One day, you’re on fire. The next, you’re so brain-fogged you can barely spell your name, let alone learn something new.

As humans with unpredictable days (and energy levels!), learning isn’t a straight trajectory: It’s more like a pendulum swing—one moment you’re making progress and the next, you’re back in the weeds.

This to-and-fro movement is called pendulation, and I experienced it firsthand in 2011. Back then, I was an Excel newbie and quickly learned the basics (read: functions, conditional formatting, and data cleaning). I was on a roll!

Then I hit VBA and…felt clueless all over again. And honestly? This curveball knocked my motivation. I’d thought I’d mastered Excel, but now, I wasn’t so sure. But here’s the thing about the pendulum: 

If you keep going, you’ll swing back up again. 

So I pushed through, and today, Excel is one of my top skills. But that wouldn’t have happened without the good days and the bad!  

Whether you’re starting a business, learning a new hobby, or mastering Excel, know this back-and-forth is integral to the process. As Ali Abdaal puts it: 

“This expanding and contracting is natural—it’s like the beating of a heart. A heart that only contracts or only expands can’t beat. It’s the movement between the two that keeps things alive.” 

The next time you feel like you’re taking two steps forward and one step back, remember: That’s not failure—that’s just your pendulum in motion. ✨

• The better way to select checkboxes in Excel (yes, it exists!). ☑️

• 360 people know how to create signatures in Excel. Do you? 👀

• If you feel you’re “not a creative person,” read this. 🤯

• “Love this 👏” reads a comment on my Excel dynamic header tip!

• What if journaling about procrastination made you more productive? 💭

I just started reading How to Win at Travel and I’m totally hooked. Author Brian Kelly, founder of The Points Guy, is the go-to for saving money and maximizing credit card points so you can plan your dream itinerary. If smarter travel is one of your 2025 goals, be sure to grab a copy! ✈️

Stay Exceling,

Kat