How to save at least an hour a day with these simple Excel hacks
Love to save time when working with office tools such as Microsoft Excel and Word? An expert shares 10 easy tips and shortcuts you can use.
In the UK, office workers spend up to 38% of their time using Excel, according to Micro Biz Mag. With workers spending an average of four to nine hours sitting at their desks each day, according to Insight, this means that they could be spending an hour to four hours using Excel.
However, according to a spreadsheet expert, much of this time could be recouped. John Michalouds, who has worked to improve the Excel skills of professionals across a wide range of industries, estimates that they could be saving up to an hour every day.
According to John, many people learn to get to grips with Excel, but they don’t learn how to use it formally. As such, they might be using it in inefficient ways. If you rely on Excel a lot, by learning to be truly good with spreadsheets, you can free up at least an hour in your working day.
To help professionals save time across the board, John, with MyExcelOnline, has shared a host of tips that work with both Excel and Google Sheets.
You don’t need to be especially techy to get good with these spreadsheet tools. These are shortcuts that anyone could use, and each of them could save real-time. Here are the tips.
1) Ctrl + C (Copy) & Ctrl + V (Paste)
Instantly copy and paste text or data. This could save 5-10 minutes daily for those copying and pasting data manually.
2) Ctrl + Z (Undo) & Ctrl + Y (Redo)
Quickly undoes or redoes the last action, saving up to 5 minutes that is often spent correcting mistakes by hand.
3) Ctrl + F (Find)
Helps find specific words, data, or phrases in spreadsheets, saving 10-15 minutes that can be spent searching through large files.
4) Ctrl + Shift + Arrow Keys (Select Range)
Selects a block of data or text, which can be a minute or more otherwise spent manually dragging to select larger datasets.
5) Ctrl + K (Insert Link)
Inserts a hyperlink, saving seconds per link, which can add up to minutes if you have to link multiple references.
6) Ctrl + D (Fill Down in Excel) & Duplicate Text in Docs
In Excel, it copies the content of the selected cell down the column. In Docs, it can duplicate a line of text or format. Both avoid repeat copying, saving minutes in larger datasets.
7. Ctrl + Space (Select Entire Column) & Shift + Space (Select Entire Row)
Selects entire columns or rows, saving several seconds each time it’s used.
8) Templates
Both platforms allow you to save templates that can be duplicated and used for common formats, like reports and invoices, which can save hours on design and formatting.
9) Version History
Tracks changes in both Docs and sheets, allowing you to quickly revert to earlier versions, which can save hours in correcting mistakes or finding lost data.
10. Ctrl + E (Flash Fill in Excel) & Smart Fill in Google Docs
Automatically fill in patterns based on previous input (e.g., formatting phone numbers or names), which can minutes each time.
Why master Excel and other spreadsheets
Excel is one of the most widely used tools in the working world. It’s only becoming more prevalent, too. I predict that Excel will be taught in school alongside coding in the future, as the workplace continues to move more and more digital.
MyExcelOnline is an online provider of courses specifically designed to help people learn how to use Excel. From introductory lessons to specifics on formulas, formatting, charts, and more, these courses, run by founder John Michaloudis aim to help people save time and money by learning how to more effectively use Excel.
