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This past week, I continued learning about Excel formulas. I’ve learned a lot, but I’ll admit, I’ve made my fair share of mistakes too. For example, I accidentally typed =(min
instead of =min(
—but that’s part of the learning process. The key is to keep practicing, and that’s exactly what I plan to do next week by working on real datasets.
I’ve been following along with a tutorial video that really breaks things down in a digestible way. The instructor provided sample Excel sheets that I downloaded from GitHub to practice with, which made it easier for me to follow along. My learning routine has been structured too: I watch about 30 minutes of the tutorial video before I start working in the morning, and then another 30 minutes before bed to reinforce what I’ve learned. This routine has helped me stay consistent.
Now, while the past two weeks have been all about learning these functions theoretically, I realized that practice is key. So, this week, I plan to dive into real datasets, make mistakes, and relearn these formulas in practical scenarios. I know it’s in the practical application that I put my skills to use. Also, while learning, I try to see where I can apply these formulas to areas I’m passionate about— education and travel.
Here are a few formulas I’ve picked up:
- MIN/MAX/SUM/AVERAGE
These are basic but powerful formulas for calculating the minimum, maximum, sum, or average values.
Application: In education, they can be used to analyze student grades—finding the highest and lowest scores, calculating averages, or summing up total marks. In the travel sector, they’re great for calculating total trip costs or averaging customer ratings.
Example:
=SUM(A1:A10)
adds up values in a range.
2. IF & IFS
IF lets you create a condition and return different values depending on whether that condition is true or false. IFS allows you to handle multiple conditions at once.
Application: In travel, this could be used to categorize destinations based on budget. In education, you can use it to assign letter grades to scores.
Example:
=IF(A1>60, "Pass", "Fail")
.
- LEN
This formula counts the number of characters in a text string.
Application: It can be used to ensure phone numbers, IDs, or other data entries are correct, especially when validating forms in travel booking systems.
Example:
=LEN(A1)
counts the characters in a cell.
- LEFT & RIGHT
These functions allow you to extract characters from either the start or end of a string.
Application: You can use these in travel to extract the year from a date, or in education to pull relevant data from student IDs or course codes.
Example:
=LEFT(A1, 4)
extracts the first four characters.
- TEXT
This converts numbers to text in a specific format.
Application: In travel, this is helpful for formatting dates or numbers (like flight numbers), and in education, it could be used to standardize how dates are displayed on certificates.
Example:
=TEXT(A1, "dd-mm-yyyy")
.
- TRIM
It cleans up messy data by removing extra spaces, leaving only one space between words.
Application: Whether it’s cleaning up student names or client information in travel bookings, this is a great tool for improving data quality.
Example:
=TRIM(A1)
.
- CONCATENATE
This combines two or more text strings into one.
Application: In travel, you could use this to create email addresses by combining first and last names. In education, it’s useful for generating usernames or IDs for students.
Example:
=CONCATENATE(B2, ".", C2)
.
- SUBSTITUTE
This formula helps you replace one specific part of a text string with something else.
Application: You could use this in travel to update destination codes or in education to correct repeated errors in student records.
Example:
=SUBSTITUTE(A1, "old_value", "new_value")
.
- SUMIF/SUMIFS
SUMIF and SUMIFS add up values based on one or multiple conditions.
Application: In education, you could use these formulas to sum the scores of students who passed a test. In travel, they could be used to calculate total trip costs based on different conditions like discounts.
Example:
=SUMIFS(B2:B10, A2:A10, "criteria1")
.
- COUNT/COUNTIF
These functions count the number of cells that meet a certain condition.
Application: Use COUNTIF in education to count the number of students with a grade higher than 70, or in travel to count how many bookings came from a specific location.
Example:
=COUNTIF(A1:A10, ">70")
.
- DAYS/NETWORKDAYS
DAYS calculates the number of days between two dates, and NETWORKDAYS excludes weekends and holidays.
Application: These are super useful in both travel and education for tracking deadlines, calculating travel duration, or figuring out how long it takes for students to complete assignments.
Example:
=NETWORKDAYS(start_date, end_date)
.
Applying What I’ve Learned
Although I’ve been learning these formulas theoretically, I’m looking forward to applying them with real datasets this week. By working on actual data, I’ll be able to test these formulas, make mistakes, and relearn how they work in practice. This hands-on experience will help me become more comfortable and confident in using these tools.
As someone who loves both education and travel, it’s exciting to see how these Excel formulas can be applied in real-world scenarios. Whether it's managing student data or planning a vacation, these tools are incredibly versatile. I’m excited to keep learning, practicing, and discovering new ways to apply them in my work.
If you’ve ever used Excel formulas in your work, especially in education or travel, I’d love to hear about your experience! Feel free to share tips or insights in the comments!