What 7 mins can teach you about productivity ⏳

Hey you! ‘Tis the season for gifting—and the best gift you can give yourself? An investment in your Excel skill set…so you can land that new dream job, secure a raise, and finish work early (AKA never miss out on those post-work activities again 😉). 

So, don’t miss out on my free Excel masterclass next week, where I’ll share brand new functions and data cleaning strategies to help you become an Excel wizard!   

There are three class options available (space is limited, so please only pick one!): 

• December 13 at 3 PM EST 

• December 15 at 12 PM EST 

• December 15 at 3 PM EST 

Sign up right here. Can’t wait to see you!  

_{Can’t attend live? No worries! When you register, you’ll get access to a 48-hour replay.} 

Manual Lists Don’t Stand a Chance With This Function 

Pop Quiz: You see your company’s intern listing names like this. 👇

What do you do? 

1. Nothing! They’re doing it right…right? 

2. Time to show them a new function. 

3. Unsure. I might be the intern here… 🙃

A few years ago, I found my company’s intern doing exactly this—and I opted for option 2: I showed them a little something called the ARRAYTOTEXT function. 🙌 Now, I’m here to show you! 

The What: This function merges the cells in your array* (in our case, cells B3:B12) into one text string. 

💡 * An array is the range of cells where your data is located. It can be either a single column (like our example!) or multiple, and span horizontally or vertically, depending on your needs.

The Why: A single line can be easier for data manipulation or exporting your data to third-party programs.   

Ready for the how? Let’s dive in!

Bonus: What if you want to do the exact opposite: Turn a single line into an array? That’s when TEXTSPLIT comes into play. 👀 Here’s the one-minute explanation that’ll fill you in.

BRB: Adding “Athlete” to My Resume

Did you know that Excel is now an e-sport?! And that there’s a world championship coming up this weekend!? Tune in to watch here: 

Join Order.co and the Financial Modeling World Cup on this Saturday December 9th at 10PM EST to witness the ultimate clash of financial minds competing for the world championship title. 16 of the world’s best Excel users will compete in a series of challenges for the prize!

Learn more about FMWC here.

How to Advance Your Project When You Have “No Time”

In Mathew Dick’s book Someday is Today, he recounts a conversation with an aspiring author at a McDonald’s. “How much have you written?” asks Mathew. 

The author says she hasn’t started just yet—she’s still waiting for the perfect time to write under optimal conditions. Mathew’s response? “You were seven minutes late today. I used those seven minutes to write some sentences.” 

Many creatives find themselves in the author’s position: Waiting for the perfect two-hour block to sit down at a cafe—smooth jazz in the background and a latte in hand. 

But to Mathew’s point, you don’t need the perfect conditions to start creating. Those few minutes in between activities—during TV commercials, on hold with an airline, or waiting in line at the grocery store—can easily be turned into productive moments.

“But Kat, those spare minutes won’t be enough to finish the whole thing!”

You’re right! But just a few more sentences, lines of code, or [insert whatever you’re working on here] is progress, and that’s better than no progress at all. This mindset shift was key to my early days of growing Miss Excel, when I also had a 9–5 job. 

I only had a few minutes during the weekday (usually in between Zoom meetings 🫠) to focus on the business, then had whatever time left after work to create TikToks. Whenever I’d think “I don’t have time,” I’d remind myself of Mathew’s lesson: 

“If you actually want to be doing it, you should be doing it whenever it is possible.” 

Whether you have two minutes or two hours, whether you’re in a coffee shop or McDonald’s: Any moment can be the perfect moment to create something. 

To prepare for those moments, here’s what I’d suggest: 

• ➜ Get comfy with your notes app. No laptop? No problem! Whip out your phone to write your ideas or next steps. 

• ➜ Bring a pen with you everywhere. If you don’t have your phone, rely on a pen to scribble your thoughts on whatever is nearby—a napkin, receipt, or folder. 

• ➜ Embrace “good enough.” Your best work likely won’t come from an seven-minute work session. That’s okay. The point here is progress, not perfection. 

By embracing this mindset, you’ll turn every opportunity—no matter how brief or unconventional—into a step forward in your creative journey. 🚶

• We've got your Saturday plans covered—16 of the world’s best Excel users will compete in The Excel World Championships on December 9th. Tune in here.* 

• “That is a lifesaver,” reads a comment under a video about 14 essential OneNote tips. 👀

• The three best (and worst) pieces of career advice Henry Blodget, the CEO of Business Insider, ever received. 

• Learning how to manifest a job offer through the law of attraction? Sign me up. 

• “I deserve a career that fulfills me” and 48 other affirmations for career success.

*This is sponsored advertising content.

In honor of Spotify Wrapped last week, I’m just going to drop this here…

Which brings me to ask: If we were to create an Excel wrapped, what would it include? A few ideas…

• You dealt with 2,198 #REF! errors. 

• Your most-used function was VSTACK, followed by TEXTSPLIT. 

• People in 20 different offices around the world used your formulas. 

Stay Exceling,

Kat