The '5 Whys' method for resolutions 📝

Hey there! Here’s what’s out for 2024: #REF Errors. Messy spreadsheets. Boring PowerPoint presentations. Chaotic inboxes. Feeling dread whenever your boss asks you to do something in Excel (because you know it’ll take forever). 

Here’s what’s in for 2024: Neat spreadsheets. Engaging PowerPoint Presentations. Tidy Outlook inboxes. And yes…leaving work early! 🕺🏻

If you’re ready to have the best year of your career yet, here’s your chance to get 50% off any Miss Excel bundles with the discount code NEWME24. Plus, you’ll get our 2024 New Year New Me Bundle of Templates for free with any course bundle purchase! 

Who knew 2024 could be this good?! 🤗

How the Professionals Use COUNTIF

📝 Excel Pop Quiz: You’re organizing a dinner party and have offered your guests three platter options: Salmon, Chicken, and Steak. How do you efficiently tally their preferences on Excel to ensure everyone gets their top choice? 

Sure, you could count them yourself. But if there’s one thing we’re leaving behind in 2023, it’s manual to-dos. Let me show you a better way with COUNTIF! 

💡 COUNTIF: This function counts the number of times a specific condition is met within a range of cells. In its simplest form, the function is =COUNTIF(Where do you want to look?, What do you want to look for?)

For our example, let’s say we want to see how many people listed salmon as their top choice. Here’s how we’d do this in three simple steps: 

💡 Excel Tip: The asterisk in an Excel formula represents any number of characters. By placing it after the word “Salmon,” it will search for a match of the same word. This will help us find how many people listed “Salmon” in a string of text.

Just rinse and repeat for the other two platters to determine how much of each ingredient to buy! 🧑‍🍳

The Secret to (Actually) Accomplishing Your Goals 

‘Tis the season of goal-setting. As millions of us set aspirations for the New Year, some of us will succeed…but many won’t. The question is: Why?! 

Let me tell you a story about my friend (let’s call her Nina). In 2019, Nina told me she wanted to learn how to drive. She’d just turned 23 and figured this was a good age to start learning.

But Nina was not a natural driver. After three lessons, she quit (“The highway is scary,” I remember her telling me 😂). 

Three years later, Nina signed up for diving school again. She’d been stuck at home during the pandemic and craved the ability to move more freely—something, she realized, driving would offer. So she set the same goal again. Six months, dozens of lessons, and two failed driving tests later…she finally passed. 

What changed? Her “Why.” 

Nina went from, “I should learn how to drive because I’m 23,” to “I want to learn how to drive so I can be free and independent.” Notice how much stronger that second reason is? 

The same applies to any goal. When we have a crystal-clear vision that is deeply personal to us, it motivates us to push through when the going gets tough. 

• Try This: Ask yourself “Why do I want to hit this goal?” five times. This is known as the “Five Whys”—by asking yourself the same question over and over, you’ll eventually get to a powerful root reason. 

For example: 

While the first “Why” of gaining confidence at work has potential, it’s not enough to get you across the finish line. When Excel stresses you out, you may want to throw in the towel—it’s only your work confidence at stake, after all.

But when you’re able to connect to that deep, root desire of wanting to live to your fullest potential? Excuses fly out the door.

That’s a reason that will drive you to reach your goal. 

Whether your 2024 goal is to learn how to drive, build an audience, or get better at Excel, spend some time reflecting on your “Whys.” It’s the secret to turning your goals into a reality. 💫

• GPTs can now be embedded on your website! And using GPT-Trainer, it’s free to build a GPT aligned with your brand using your own data—and offload tasks like customer support, lead generation, and more. Use code theworkbook20 for 20% off paid tiers of GPT-Trainer.* 

• “I never knew this one!” reads a comment on my video on rearranging your pivot table fields. 👀

• Want to wake up early to work on your passion this year? Try the 50/30/10/10 Rule. ☀️

• Which is better: Microsoft Loop or Microsoft OneNote? This video investigates.

*This is sponsored advertising content.

Thank you for being here! To close us out, here’s an all-too-relatable moment (we’ve all been there). 

Stay Exceling,

Kat