How to overcome your fear of MS Excel

One course that we are always asked about, that is, if we have it in our lineup or not, is MS Excel. Gaining proficiency in this particular software seems to be a common concern for many employees—and not just for those whose main job is in finance or accounting. The challenge though is overcoming a fear of numbers and a worry that it might be too technical.

We asked Donnie Baje, an expert on MS Excel, to give us some tips on how to overcome our misgivings of learning about MS Excel.

No one is born an MS Excel expert

Everyone who is proficient in this software was taught by someone in some way. Everyone started with a blank sheet.

To get started, ask a friend who may know how or seek help from online MS Excel forums. Or perhaps enroll in a course. Experiment with functions and formulas until you find what you need. Remember there is always the undo button anyway in case of mistakes.

Know the benefits of MS Excel

With businesses relying on data intelligence nowadays, employees must have the capability to maximize the tools of MS Excel. Manually doing tasks takes time and requires a lot of effort. Automating tasks in MS Excel allows you to do other tasks within your work time.

Plus, using formulas instead of manual actions minimizes human error in reports. Presenting accurate reports over time yields a positive impression to your superiors.

Study one function at a time—and use it when you can.

What’s overwhelming with MS Excel is that there seems to be a lot to know. While that may be true, a person usually needs just the essentials and a few of the advanced tools. The rest are for statisticians, data analysts and those who design complex automated reports.

There is no reason to know the purpose of every single function in MS Excel. Find one or two functions to study and determine how those can help you in your tasks. Use them and keep practicing until you have mastered the functionality. Then, learn some more new functions. Repeat this cycle until, before you realize it, you have already learned a lot.

Donnie will facilitate a MS EXCEL Made Simple (Beginners Guide to MS Excel) on April 25, 2017, from 9 am to 5 pm.

This program aims to provide the fundamentals of MS Excel that will allow participants to use and maximize the software for their daily tasks.

It will cover the essential functions, data management tools, basic charting, and Pivot Tables.

This one-day program will be held at the Inquirer Academy Building, on Don Chino Roces Avenue in Makati.