You probably use Microsoft Excel to manage your work, home, and school life. You’ve probably also used an Excel template to save time on calculations, create pivot tables, or track your monthly expenses. But have you ever thought about creating your own spreadsheet template? If not, it’s time you start! Creating an Excel template can benefit you in the long run and make your life much easier. Once you have created one or more templates and get used to using them regularly, it will take much less time to complete tasks that require the analysis of data. So what features should your next template have? Read on for some great tips:
Make your worksheet easier to navigate
The main reason you create an Excel template is to save time while completing tasks. However, if your template is poorly designed, it will make things much more difficult. When creating your next template, make sure it is easy to navigate. You can do this by adding tabs along the bottom of your worksheet to separate the different sections. This makes it easier to navigate between different parts of the template quickly. Now you won’t have to go scrolling up and down the page every time you want to go back and forth between two different sections. Another important feature to consider when creating an Excel template is the ability to easily copy and paste data from one worksheet to another. If you have a lot of data in one worksheet, it can be time-consuming to manually transfer it over to another worksheet. Luckily, you can use Excel’s built-in tools to make copying and pasting data a much quicker process.
Track how much time is spent on each task
Are you responsible for tracking how much time is spent on certain tasks? If you manage a team of employees, it may be important to know how much time they spend on different tasks. Or perhaps you have a task that requires you to track your own time. Whatever the case may be, you can save time by creating an Excel template that tracks time spent on tasks. This can be very helpful if you manage your time poorly. For example, let’s say you have a project that requires you to spend five hours each week, but you spend 10 hours every week on this task. If you don’t have a way to track your time, you will likely continue spending 10 hours on this task every week. An Excel template that tracks time spent on tasks can help prevent this from happening. You can create a new worksheet in the template that has two columns, one for the date and the other for the amount of time spent on the selected task. Every time you work on this task, you can record the date and the amount of time spent. This will help you better manage your time in the future and make it less likely that you will waste time on tasks.
Show which tasks are currently in progress
Are there certain tasks you always start at the beginning of each month? Or maybe you have certain tasks that you need to complete every week. If you are completing tasks regularly, you may want to create an Excel template that shows which tasks are currently in progress. This will allow you to easily keep track of which tasks you have started and which ones you have completed. It can also be helpful when you have to report on your progress to managers or clients. If you are managing a team of employees, it can also be useful to show which employees have started which tasks. A template like this can help you manage your team more effectively and keep track of which employees are completing tasks.
Which tasks have been completed, and which are still outstanding
At the end of each month, you may be required to report on which tasks you have completed and which ones you still need to complete. Or perhaps you are working on a project and need to keep track of which tasks have been completed and which ones are still pending. If you are in either of these situations, you can use an Excel template to keep track of the tasks you have completed and the ones that are still outstanding. A template that tracks completed tasks can be extremely helpful when you are working on a project with many different tasks. It can help you stay organized and make sure you don’t accidentally overlook any tasks. This can be particularly helpful when you are managing a team of employees.
Sum up the amount of time spent per task by an employee
Are you managing a team of employees? If so, it can be helpful to know how much time each employee spends on different tasks. This is particularly true if you are working on time-sensitive projects. If you know how much time each employee is spending on different tasks, you will be able to better plan for your schedule moving forward. You can also use this information to determine which employees are working the hardest. If you are managing a team, you will also be able to see which employees are spending the most time on certain tasks. This information can be helpful if there is an employee who always seems to be spending too much time on the tasks they are responsible for. It can also be helpful if you are working on a project that is time sensitive.
Sum up the amount of money spent per task by an employee
Along with keeping track of how much time employees spend on different tasks, you may also want to know how much money they are spending on each task. This can be helpful if you are working on a project that is funded by a third party. It can also be helpful if you are working on a project that is funded by a budget. Keeping track of how much money each employee is spending on each task can help you make better decisions when it comes to outfitting your employees. It can also help you make better decisions when it comes time to request funds for new projects.
Sum up the amount of money spent per task type
If you are working on a project that requires a certain amount of money, you may have to complete tasks that cost money. For example, you may need to hire a public relations firm, buy new equipment, or pay for advertising. If this is the case, it is helpful to track how much money is spent on these tasks. If you are managing a team of employees, it can also be helpful to know what tasks cost the most money. This will help you better manage your budget and make better decisions moving forward. It can also be helpful if you are working on a project that is funded by a third party.
Conclusion
Keeping track of how much time employees spend on different tasks and how much money is spent on each task can be very helpful when working on projects. If you are managing a team of employees, it can help you make better decisions when it comes to scheduling and prioritizing tasks. It can also help you make better decisions when it comes to requesting funds for new projects. Creating an Excel template like this can help you to keep track of important information and make better decisions. So next time you need to keep track of how much time employees spend on different tasks or how much money is spent on different tasks, consider creating an Excel template.