Spreadsheets are awesome

In my talks, I sometimes mention that I track my time on weekly spreadsheets. I note that this makes me sound like a lot of fun! Then, with a certain sort of audience — basically anyone in finance, tech, or logistics — I’ll lean in and say that I’m guessing a few folks listening also appreciate a good spreadsheet.

This tends to get a laugh, but you can count me in as a spreadsheet fan. And not just for numerical matters like my business expenses. Lately, I’ve been using spreadsheets to organize all aspects of my life.

For instance, in November of each year, I create a Camp+Summer spreadsheet. I put my kids’ names across the top and the weeks of summer down the left-hand side. This way I can easily see who has camps when and where, and I can block in family vacations to everyone’s schedule.

The Christmas card address list is a spreadsheet, of course, which I can then update with notes. The Before Breakfast schedule is a spreadsheet, with dates, episode titles, and descriptions. This year the Christmas gift list is also a spreadsheet — because it’s getting really important to keep everyone’s pile relatively equal (with a bit of a relief valve: two kids have birthdays right after Christmas so any excess purchases can become birthday presents!)

Not too long ago, I was interviewed for an article about using workplace productivity tools in our personal lives. I think in the original brainstorming the article had been proposed as a lament: can’t we ever escape from these things? But honestly, many of these tools serve a real purpose. If we overuse them in our professional lives (I can attest: you can speak without PowerPoint!) we probably underuse them in our personal lives.

So if you’re getting together with a group of friends, you absolutely can come up with a rough list of things to talk about (just don’t call it a meeting agenda!). You can send calendar invites to your spouse or teens for things they need to know about. And you can organize your life with spreadsheets — because spreadsheets are awesome. They help complex matters make sense.?