Prepare to Excel

Did we make enough memories? This is a question I always ask myself.

We are finally home and back to reality after our little road trip to Wiltshire. On route we’ve stopped off to see friends or visit places including Lincoln, Skegness, Coventry, Bath, Warminster and Nottingham.

We were gridlocked in a 2 hour traffic jam but we laughed through it made light of it. Two of us fell off our bike and have the bruises to prove it but we got back on and learnt about our limitations.

We have played countless games of power hungry pets, chase the ace, five crowns, hearts, J2s&8s and uno. We have eaten way too much, spent too much and laughed just as much.

As my twins accelerate towards adulthood I find myself asking myself questions. Did they enjoy their childhood? Did we teach them the right lessons? Did we do right by them? I’m thoroughly in awe of these resilient, thoughtful, kind young men.

Wherever their life takes them family will always be my favourite place to be.

There are at least three perfectly good ways to calculate a percentage.

Some people divide the figure by 100, then multiply by the percentage they need.

Some convert the percentage to a decimal first (20% becomes 0.2) and multiply by that.

And then there are the Excel geeks (myself included!) who simply write:

=A2*20%

Excel does the rest.

Here’s the thing…

I don’t tell people they have to use MY method.

I explain the options, why they work, and let them choose the one that makes the most sense to them.

Because good training isn’t about replacing one method with another just because it’s newer.

It’s about helping people understand.

Once they understand, they’ll remember the method that fits how they think.

There isn’t always a single ‘right’ way.

There are often several correct ways.

As trainers, our job isn’t to force everyone to drink from the same cup.

It’s to help them find the one they’ll actually use.

That’s when learning sticks.

One more milestone ticked off! I’m pleased to have achieved the Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals (DP-900) certification.

Although it’s a fundamentals certification, it covers a broad range of topics including relational and non-relational data, Azure SQL services, Azure Cosmos DB, analytics, data warehousing, and modern data solutions in Azure.

It has given me an even stronger foundation to build on. A big thank you to everyone who has encouraged me along the way. Continuous learning has always been important to me, and it’s something I encourage in every training session I deliver.

Next stop… PL-300: Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst. 📊

I’m just going to leave this here. Shamelessly stolen from a very recent trailer for Ted Lasso.

I cannot wait to be blown away, humbled and most definitely reaching for the tissues!

One of the things I love most about Ted Lasso is that the biggest lessons have very little to do with football. They’re about kindness, resilience, perspective and believing in yourself.

Here’s to spending a little less time looking back and a lot more time looking ahead.

If you've followed me for a while you'll already know that my heart tends to be on my sleeve. Over the last year I have invested quite a lot of my time in learning new things. Technology moves so quickly - it always pays to stay current and I love learning.

I was gifted the book 'Who moved my cheese' recently and it has made me think - if the world changes, what new "cheese" should I be looking for? With AI becoming part of everyday working life, it's easy to wonder where you fit. I'm sure that you've had those thoughts too?

But here's what I've realised...

I have fallen in love functionality such as Power Query and Power Pivot (they're free and hidden away within Excel if you aren't sure what I'm talking about!). I'm currently studying my PL300 Data Analyst qualification - creating visualisations, dashboards and reports in Power BI. Yesterday and today I have been on a course with Baltic Apprenticeships learning about Azure Data Fundamentals.

Anyway - long story short - as I do have a tendency to waffle! I will never leave Excel behind. I love that weird green logo! I love the subject that I discovered a long time ago! Power BI is a natural progression and I am embracing that with open arms - I'm excited to add that to my toolkit.

But Excel? That's home. So no... AI hasn't made me want to change lanes. It's simply encouraged me to become even better at driving in the one I'm already in.

If you fancy some driving lessons - drop me a message, lets chat.

Email: [email protected]
Tel: 07890 764316

Some new faces on here recently so I thought it might be useful to introduce myself.

Believe it or not there's a little bit more to me than spreadsheets and formulas!

So, here's my user guide...

I'll be honest... this week hasn't started the way I had hoped.

We all have those weeks where life just feels a little heavier than usual.

It's reminded me how important it is to be kind - not just to others, but to ourselves too. When I'm struggling, I try to focus on the small things that help me reset.
A walk to clear my head.
A chat with someone I trust.
A hug from my Mam.
A little bit of chocolate (because sometimes chocolate really does help!).
A good cup of tea.
An early night.

They don't make life's problems disappear, but they help me take the next step forward.

Mental health matters. Some days that means asking for help. Other days it means recognising that you're not at your best and giving yourself permission to slow down.

So if someone seems quieter than usual, less patient, or a little distant, try not to jump to conclusions.

We rarely know the full story.

A little kindness. A little patience. A little understanding. You never know how much someone might need it.

If this week has been a tough one for you too, I hope tomorrow feels a little lighter.

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 #𝟔

Today we're talking Slicers - easy peasy visual filters that make your spreadsheets look like you've got an art degree! Easy to apply - the only pre-requisite is that your dataset has to be converted to a Table first.

Top tip: Slicers work best with a column that only has a small number of unique categories. If you have 4 categories - change the number of columns to 4 in the Slicer tab and then position it above your dataset in an empty row 1. Freeze the top few rows and voila - it stays put for even easier interactivity.