Does Time Management Really Work?

I hate how useless time management guides are to me."

I saw a post with this quote and thought, "hmmm, what guides is this person reading?"

Or, is this person reading and not implementing the tactics taught in the guides?

For me, this resonates a bit because not only do I, probably like many of you, find myself crazy busy often (especially with everyone working and schooling from home these days), but get caught up in the moment and forget everything I've learned about Time Management.

It can be a chore when first learning techniques and strategies to save time in your day.

They say, "It takes 21 days to create a habit."

But they also say it can take the same amount of time to break a habit, but I say it can take just a few days to stop using the time management skills you put into place by reading one of these "useless time management guides..." or "courses..."

Time Management goes hand in hand with Motivation. If you are not motivated to get more time out of your day, then you will neglect the habits you learned and started using.

So, how do you ensure you continue to use time management techniques you've learned?

You have to see results quickly! Even if you slip, going back to remember the time management skills you learned and started using, you can get back into them and probably create that good habit in less than 21 days this time around.

I personally think that most people's motivation has to be that they will have more free time.

Everyone I know, every week, says, "Thank God it's Friday!"

- do you hear that too?

I'm thinking about starting a 21 day challenge around getting more free time by learning Time Management techniques using Outlook. Although the techniques I used can be used with other Email software like Gmail, but my focus is the software I use.

Are you up for the challenge?

Is there something else you'd like to learn, like how to get and stay motivated?

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to email me with whatever it is that you need to get more of your free time back in your life.

Feel free to drop me an email and let me know!

contact@goaskdebbie.com

If you're interested in learning more on Outlook, CLICK HERE to download my FREE Outlook Time Management Mini-course.

Excel Slicers - How to Use them and Why 

Did you know that Excel Pivot Tables can do so much more than just show your data and sum or count it?

Are you saying, "Debbie, what are slicers?"

Let me explain...

Slicers were added in Excel 2010 to filter PivotTable data. In Excel 2013 & newer versions, you can now use slicers to filter any table data. Slicers clearly indicate what data is shown in the table after you filter the data. They include buttons so that you can quickly filter data without having to use drop down lists to find the items you want to filter. Timelines are a type of slicer that is specific to date ranges.

A slicer typically displays the following elements:

1. The Slicer Header – indicates the category of the items in the slicer.

2. Unselected filtering button – indicates that the item is not included in the filter.

3. Selected filtering button – indicates that the item is included in the filter.

4. Clear Filter button – removes the filter by selecting all items in the slicer.

5. A Scroll Bar – enables scrolling when there are more items than are currently visible in the slicer.

6. Border moving and resizing controls – allow you to change the size and location of the slicer.

Now that we've described what they are and their elements, let's talk about how to use slicers.

Using slicers

To filter your data, just select one or more of the buttons in the slicer.

You will likely that you will create more than once slicer to filter a data table or PivotTable report.

You can create a slicer that is associated with the current data table or PivotTable. You can also create a copy of a slicer.

Once you create a slicer, it appears on the worksheet alongside the table data, in a layered display if you have more than one. You can move or resize it as needed. Once created, a slicer can also be used with another table or PivotTable.

You can create slicers that work with the current data table or PivotTable or you can create a stand-alone slicer that can be associated with any other table at a later time.

If you already have an existing table, you can add slicers to improve your current table and its usage.

The Insert Slicer command is available from the Insert tab on the Ribbon. The Insert Slicers dialog box helps you quickly create your slicers, based on the data in the table you selected.

To Insert Slicers, follow these steps:

1. Place your cursor anywhere in the table.

2. Select the Insert tab from the Ribbon.

3. Select Slicer.

4. In the Insert Slicers dialog box, select the check box(es) of the fields from the table for which you want to create a slicer.

5. Select OK.

6. To apply your filters, just select the buttons for the items you want to include. You can hold down the CTRL key while selecting to choose more than one button.

Now that your slicer box appears, users can simply click on an item to filter the Pivot Table by that item. If a user continues filtering by data and needs to reset, simply click on the Filter button in the upper right corner with the Red X to clear (or remove) filters (#4 in the image above).

If you do not like the location of the slicer box, simply click and drag it around the page to placed it in the best area for users. This is particularly helpful if you setup more than one slicer. You can organize them how it best makes sense for the person using the table to look at data.

It really is that simple.

Excel Tutorials: Trace Dependents

I've had many people asking lately to create more Excel courses and particularly about formulas and data.

So, I've just uploaded a short tutorial on Trace Dependents.

CLICK HERE to watch the video.

OR, read on to view the text version.

If you have formulas that are based on the contents of another cell, you have dependent cells. The Trace Dependents command is useful to see how other cells are influenced by the active cell’s contents. 

The Trace Dependents command allows you to show tracer arrows to show the relationship between the active cell and the dependents of that cell.

1. Select the cell that you want to trace.

2. Select the Formulas tab from the Ribbon.

3. Select Trace Dependents.

4. Excel adds a tracer arrow to each cell that uses the active cell’s data.

5. Click the Trace Dependents tool again to see further relationships that are influenced by the active cell’s contents.

To learn more, CLICK HERE to view my video on Trace Precedents (the sister of Trace Dependents).

5 Steps To Break Or Make A Habit 

We all have habits. Some of yours may be good and some not so good. I know I have both. I try to eat healthy and only eat whole foods, but I love Coca Cola - no diet stuff - the real thing.

Habits are behaviors that occur almost automatically because we’ve learned them and/or been doing them for some time.

Most of us have a habit we’d like to break, or one we’d like to create.

They say it takes 21 days to develop, or break, a habit.

Here are 5 Steps you can follow to begin developing good habits you may have been trying to create for your life.

1. Set Your Goals

Habits should align with your goals. This will help you determine if you need to break a bad habit, for example. You should also write down your goals. Writing it down helps you to commit.

Some people even have their goals written, printed, and displayed so that they see them every day. It's a visual reminder that helps you stay focused.

2. Decide on a Behavior

If you are trying to stop doing something, then decide on the bad behavior and how you will replace it with something good. If it is to start a new habit, decide on a daily behavior that you need to start doing in order to create the new habit.

3. Learn Your Triggers

Behavior patterns don’t exist independently. Often, a habit is associated with another part of your regular routine. For instance, if you snack when you're not hungry, the trigger may be late night television or reading. You automatically grab a bag of chips while you watch.

For me, it's popcorn when watching movies. I grew up eating an entire tub of popcorn and a bag of licorice whenever I saw a movie in the theatres. To this day, I often grab for a bag of popcorn. To help get myself to stop eating an entire tub of popcorn, I put an appropriate amount on a plate or in a bowl and allow myself only that amount. Many people who smoke automatically light up after eating. Try to start recognizing your triggers and you will more easily be able to change these patterns.

4. Write Daily Affirmations

Write down, and even say out loud, affirmations that speak to your goals or habits you are trying to create. Make the affirmation in the present tense (as if it were already happening), and write it ten times a day for twenty-one days. This will help make your goal become part of your subconscious, which will not only remind you to practice the new behavior, but it also keeps you focused and motivated.

5. Reward Yourself!

It's important to reward yourself for making small steps towards reaching your new habits. If you complete the behavior you setup and wrote down your daily affirmations for say 3-4 days in a row, rewards yourself! Give yourself a treat, but make sure that if your goal of a new habit is something around eating healthy, that the treat cannot be food related. The treat should never be something that will go against your efforts of creating the new habit.

When the Keto dieting phases started some years ago, I had co-workers that all said we would have 1 cheat day each week to reward ourselves. For me, that only got me to crave the bad foods I would have on my cheat day. Rewards don’t have to be big or expensive. Try to make it something that’s associated in some way, in a positive way, with the goal. Doing this will provide you with both incentive and extra motivation.

Follow these steps for 21 days and you'll be surprised how it can change your life. If you stick with it, you can do it. Good Luck!

What systems do you use to track your behaviors? Do you place them on your Calendar in Outlook? Do you write them in a journal?

Or are you looking for a system to help you with your habits and goals?

I'd love to hear how everyone tracks their goals and behaviors to ensure good habits are developed and kept in your life!

Outlook Notes vs. OneNote

Which do you prefer: Outlook Notes or OneNote?

I actually use both of these, but to me, it really depends on how you keep yourself organized on whether Outlook Notes or OneNote is better for you.

Outlook allows you to turn Meetings into Note-taking in OneNote very easily. Simply click "Meeting Notes" on the menu and select "Take Notes on your own." Outlook will then create a page in your OneNote folder including the date, time, and recipients of the meeting. You can then take notes during the meeting and send to all recipients very quickly.

Outlook Notes, however, are just like sticky notes.

Now, many time management and organizational experts will tell you that sticky notes are not a good way to keep yourself organized. I agree and disagree, depending on how you use them.

For simple things I need quick reference to, I will often setup an Outlook Note - or "sticky note." I call them that because when you being using them, you'll see that they appear to look just like sticky notes - or name brand "Post-it Notes."

Above is an example of how I would use Outlook Notes. I use them for things like my favorite restaurant information or for the details of places I'd like to see on a vacation.

Now, I can also do these things with my phone Notes, but sometimes, I don't want to cloud up my phone and would rather keep them safely protected for current and future use in my Outlook Notes. Also, I know many people who still have older phones and don't have the option for Notes on their phone.

And, just like when you buy sticky notes, you can use varying colors.

Simply right-click on an existing note and select the Category that is already setup with color-coding. Or you can click "Categorize" on the ribbon and do the same thing.

You will then be able to see your Outlook Notes come alive with the different colors. This helps me as I setup some as "Work," some as "Personal" or "Family," and others as I need.

I'd love to hear how you keep track of notes. Do you prefer Outlook Notes or OneNote? Or do you use something entirely different?

If you're interested in learning how to use Outlook for Time & Task Management, download my FREE 65 Ways to Use MS Office to be More Productive! eBook.

How to Delete Blank Rows in Excel

This is the text version of a YouTube Live session of Go Ask Debbie: How to Delete Blank Rows in Excel.

I thought I'd just do a quick tip here to show people something that I've been often in Excel.

That is a lot of times when you start using data in Excel, you want to add formulas.

When you have a formula where there are blank rows, Excel stops at the first blank row, so your formula has to be manipulated a little bit - it's not so easy to calculate formulas.

So really when you're working with data in Excel, you want to get rid of all these blank rows.

They're not necessary. You may think that it looks nicer for formatting, but when you're trying to use Excel functions, really what Excel is for in calculating and manipulating data, you want to get rid of these rows.

So if the blank rows could be highlighted within your data, it's easy with a small list.

But if you have a large spreadsheet, Excel will recognize the blank rows without highlighting your data set.

But I'm going to go ahead and highlight this data set here.


















Then you're going to go to your Home Tab,

and then over here on the right, you're going to click on the Find and Select button,

and then this time we're going to select Go to Special... 

a pop-up window will appear 

and you're simply going to select Blanks on the left-hand column and then hit OK.

You'll notice then that Excel highlights, in gray, all of the blank rows.

You'll see the first cell A4 is highlighted in white because that's the active cell.

But we really want to recognize these rows that are highlighted in gray.

These are truly all of our blank rows that we see on the screen here,

and to Delete those all in one swoop, we're just simply going to hit our CTRL key and then the Minus (-) sign.

Excel is going to open up another Dialog Box asking us to verify what we'd like to delete.

We want to delete the Entire Row for all these blank rows and then hit OK.

You'll see all the blank rows have disappeared, and now when I go to use Excel's function for Auto Sum, Excel knows exactly what I'd like to calculate.

There are no blank rows that are stopping the formula from calculating properly.

So again when we do this we're going to

1. Highlight our data set from our Home tab.
2. Click on Find and Select
3. and then Go to Special... 
4. Click on Blanks
5. Hit the OK button
6. and then CTRL - (CTRL and Minus)
7. and select Entire Row
8. and OK

It really is that simple.

So now imagine if you've got a spreadsheet with tens of thousands of rows worth of data and you have 500 empty rows.

This makes it a lot faster than manually searching through blank rows and deleting them one at a time.

Thanks for taking this session of Go Ask Debbie with YouTube Live.

If you like what you see today, please Like the YouTube video.

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Thanks and everyone have a great day!

Watch the video here:

How to Calculate Percentages in Excel

Did you get your annual raise yet?

Many people have asked me over the years, "How do I calculate my annual raise when I know what percentage I'm getting?"

First, let's understand percentages. The term "percent" is literally broken down as "per," which means "out of" and "cent," which is one-hundred. So, a percent is the number out of one-hundred.

So, you're probably asking, "Debbie, how does that help me when I was told I was getting a 3% salary increase?"

Well, here's how you would calculate it.

Let's take Jim. Jim was told by his boss that he would be receiving a 3% salary increase on January 15th. If Jim's current salary is $40,000, let's see what his raise would be.

If you'd like to use Excel to do this, simply write the formula as such.

Column A would contain Jim's current salary of $40,000.

Column B would contain Jim's increase percentage of 3%.

Column C would calculate the 3% of $40,000, which would output $1,2000.

Column D would then add the $1,200 increase to Jim's current salary of $40,000, which would show his NEW Salary of $41,200.

Now, this is a bit of the long way around, but if it works for you, go ahead and use it.

For those of you who like quicker ways to calculate increases, here's what you would do. (Example shown in screenshot, Row 5)

Column A would contain Jim's current salary of $40,000.

Column B would contain the formula =A5*1.03 (this means you are saying I want 100% of the current salary, PLUS 3% added). This then gives you the $41,200 NEW Salary figure we came up with the 4 Column process above.

Hopefully, many of you will receive more than 3% with the new U.S. Tax Reform announced recently! But, this is just an example of how you can easily calculate percentages using Excel.

Please LIKE and COMMENT if you found this helpful.