How “wooden doors” lead to opportunities 🚪

Hey! Earlier this June, I asked you: If you could be a master in any Excel topic, which would you choose?

The overwhelming majority of you had the same answer: Pivot Tables. 🙇‍♂️

Which is why I’m so excited to announce my next free live Excel class will be on everything Pivot Tables and Analysis! Here are the dates:

• Wednesday, July 10 at 3 PM ET

• Thursday, July 11 at 12 PM ET

• Friday, July 12 at 12 PM ET

This class will teach you how to save hours each week and absolutely change the game for you. Snag your seat today here—I can’t wait to see you there!

Is Somebody Gonna Match My Freak (Create a Dynamic Checkbox Tracker)? 

If you’re as obsessed with Excel as I am, you likely use it for all your project management needs. But if you want to really up your productivity game? 

Three words: Dynamic. Checkbox. Tracker. 

This tool lets you see your progress in real time as you check off tasks. I ❤️ this thing because you get the satisfaction of crossing something off your to-do list and seeing your project get closer to the finish line.

Here’s how you can create a dynamic checkbox tracker: 

Here’s this tip in video form if you’d like to check off “peep Kat’s dance moves” from your to-do list. 🕺🏻

How ‘Wooden Doors’ Can Lead to Opportunities 

The good news: Opportunities are everywhere. The bad news: They’re not all easy to spot. If we’re not careful, we could miss a life-changing opportunity just because it’s not an obvious win. 

For example: In 2023, Social Media Marketing World invited me as a keynote speaker. 

This was a cool opportunity but at the time, I was terrified of public speaking and worried I’d end up embarrassing myself (fun fact: the fear of public speaking is known as glossophobia 🙃). 

But I ended up accepting….and here’s what happened: 

• I conquered my fear of public speaking and discovered I actually loved it—and now have a bunch of speaking gigs lined up. 

• I met incredible people who taught me the ins and outs of social media…leading to thousands of followers and lots of new revenue. 

None of this would’ve happened had I said “no” and let my fear get the best of me.

These types of opportunities are what YouTuber Ali Abdaal calls “wooden doors.” You can’t look through them and see exactly what’s happening in the other room. But “glass doors” are the more obvious opportunities (e.g. job offer, brand sponsorship, promotion, etc.) where you know more or less what it’ll lead to. 

It’s those “wooden door” opportunities that bring the most growth. Why? Because you’re flung into unexplored territory that forces you to adapt—and you might meet people who help you in unexpected ways. 

The next time you’re faced with something that doesn’t feel like an “obvious” win, it could be a wooden door. Turn the handle…you might just walk into a room beyond your wildest dreams. 

• If your SUM function isn’t working, here’s your likely culprit. 

• 836 people used this post to boost their email productivity. 

• That’s interesting: a list of 140 Google interview questions. 

• This tutorial on building a budget dashboard in Excel is gold.

Thanks for being here! I’ve been exploring Crete, Greece, with my mom and boyfriend and absolutely eating my heart out (lots of souvlaki and tzatziki…IYKYK). 

We have a few days left here before we start getting ready for the free live Excel class. I cannot wait! 🤩

Stay Exceling,

Kat