Spreadsheets are powerful tools. Whether you’re working in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, you’ll be able to do everything from analyzing expenses to making a simple meal plan. But many people get overwhelmed when they think about spreadsheets — and that’s because spreadsheets can seem a lot more intimidating than they really are.
Let’s take a look at some of the most popular misconceptions about spreadsheet programs like Google Sheets.
1. Spreadsheets are purely financial tools
Spreadsheets can be used to organize any information. You can use spreadsheets for sign-up sheets, calendars, to-do lists, meal planning, and more. Any time you want to create some form of “list,” a spreadsheet can help.
You can check the included templates in Google Sheets to see examples of attractive, functional spreadsheets. That includes everything from monthly budgets to wedding planning.
2. Spreadsheets have a lot of formulas to memorize
You don’t need to know every formula to use a spreadsheet. For example, if you want to use the sumifs formula, you just need to know that the sumifs formula exists. By typing in “sumifs,” you’ll bring up all the information you need to know about using the function.
You can take a short refresher course, tutorial, or just view a cheat sheet to see more about what spreadsheet functions have to offer.
3. Spreadsheets are for work
A lot of people use spreadsheets for household and hobby management. Love collecting tea? Spreadsheets can be used to organize your collection. Love playing video games? Spreadsheets can be used to track the ones that you still haven’t played.
Today, a lot of people have “cognitive overload.” There are a lot of things to track, from car maintenance to household chores. Share a spreadsheet with friends and family regarding schedules and reunions. Create a spreadsheet for the household for meal plans and meal preparation.
4. Spreadsheets are specialized knowledge
Today, almost everyone who works in an office will need to use a spreadsheet at some point. If you’re thinking about any type of office work or administrative career, you will need to know the basics of spreadsheets.
Because Google Sheets is fairly intuitive, you may feel that there’s not a lot to study. But you do need to know the basics of how Google Sheets works to understand what’s really possible. There are many small seminars and classes that can be taken online for an overview.
5. Spreadsheets = Excel
Everything that can be done in Excel can be done with Google Sheets, with some minor differences. In fact, you can even import and export files from Excel to Google Sheets and vice versa. Because of that, most people who already know one program are very competent with the other.
Google Sheets even has some major advantages over Excel: It’s a free solution, it’s very accessible, and a lot of people are familiar with it because of its cloud-based interface. (That’s not to say that Excel doesn’t have its place; its integration into Office 365 and the Microsoft collaborative ecosystem is very powerful.)
6. Spreadsheets can only do basic calculations
Spreadsheets actually have many data visualization functions — in addition to basic database functions. Very complicated spreadsheets can be designed, especially if you start getting into programming and macros.
Of course, there’s always a point when it becomes better to use a database rather than keep trying to use a spreadsheet. But spreadsheets also have the major advantage of portability, while a database has to be installed.
7. Spreadsheets aren’t secure
There are a lot of ways to secure a spreadsheet. In Google Sheets, not only can you secure your spreadsheet, but you can also control who can view it, comment on it, and edit it. You can restrict certain cells from being edited, and you can restrict certain pages from being viewed.
Spreadsheets, like a lot of other technology, are essentially as secure as you make them — and if there’s confidential information in them, you should take the extra steps to secure the data.
What’s the best way to dispel misconceptions? Familiarity! Start using Google Sheets today, and you’ll find that it’s more intuitive than you think. Spreadsheets are a great skill to have for both your work and personal life — and you may be surprised at the number of chances you have to use your newfound knowledge.
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