Everyday Ways Microsoft Excel Can Organize Your Life

Microsoft Excel has been known as a powerful piece of software for personal finances, budgeting, accounting and data analysis. What you may not know is that this common program, part of the Microsoft Office suite, has a host of other uses being discovered every day.

Think of Microsoft Excel as a huge, blank list that you can type information into different columns and rows. There are individual "cells" laid out in a grid pattern on different "sheets". By clicking on a cell, you can type numbers or text into any one of the cells, then easily change, edit, or enter math formulas into them. After you type in the information you want to organize, you can format, sort, or filter it to show you the most relevant or important information to your task.

A spreadsheet is basically an empty document with tools - you can use it to organize your daily life and get rid of some paper clutter on your own desk. Spreadsheets can be saved, emailed, and printed at any time, and updated very easily! A lot of people don't know that spreadsheets like Excel can be used to store text instead of numbers, and that is how Excel can become a handy organizational tool. Below are some new uses for Excel that may make your holiday season easier.

Keep track of birthdays, anniversaries and other important dates for loved ones. I used to have a list like this taped inside my kitchen cabinet. Every time I added a birthday, it got harder and harder to read. Instead of scrawling important family dates on a piece of scrap paper that could be lost or wear with age, you can have one file that is simply for dates that you can call up and modify at any time. Label a column for names, then one for birthdays, and anniversaries. To sort the data, click on the column that you want the data sorted by, and click on the button for 'Sort Ascending' or Sort Descending'. You can sort the data you've entered by date so that you can view whose birthday is coming up next, or sort by name to find out when a particular relative's birthday is. Add addresses to this and you have everything that you need to send the right card for the occasion.