102.3 - Enter something in your "!ToDos"
The sections below include:
- Enter something in a cell
- Exiting the Cell is important!! Just TAB OUT!!
- "Format" menu > Text Wrapping
- A ToDo List in a Spreadsheet!?!
1) Enter something in a cell
1) Section 102.2 left off here (1)...
Now it's time to enter some info into your spreadsheet
To enter information into a spreadsheet
1) Select a cell
2) Type in the cell
3) Exit the cell via:
a) the tab key
b) the enter key
c) one of the arrow keys (up, down, left, right
Now it's time to enter some info into your spreadsheet
To enter information into a spreadsheet
1) Select a cell
2) Type in the cell
3) Exit the cell via:
a) the tab key
b) the enter key
c) one of the arrow keys (up, down, left, right
2) Exiting the Cell is important!! Just TAB OUT!!
IF YOU DO NOT EXIT THE CELL, THE DATA HAS NOT BEEN SUBMITTED YET -- SO IT IS IMPERATIVE TO LEARN TO ALWAYS EXIT THE CELL BEFORE STARTING TO THINK OF WHERE OR WHAT YOU NEED TO DO NEXT!
This is mindfulness in the digital age. Please try to Stay Present until you exit a cell!! Personally, I use the tab key the most to exit a cell. I refer to selecting the tab key for this task as "tabbing out". Used in conversation: "Don't forget to Tab Out"
There are some older folks who I've coached for years who just love to think ahead of every keystroke -- literally years after I've started working with them they still can't tab out consistently without a reminder, and their lack of tabbing out will often mess with them in certain spread sheet applications. It's been so painful for me to watch these folks struggle with healthy "tab out habits" that I've signed up to become a Hypnotist in hopes of being able to assist them better with the adoption of this simple task !?!?
This is mindfulness in the digital age. Please try to Stay Present until you exit a cell!! Personally, I use the tab key the most to exit a cell. I refer to selecting the tab key for this task as "tabbing out". Used in conversation: "Don't forget to Tab Out"
There are some older folks who I've coached for years who just love to think ahead of every keystroke -- literally years after I've started working with them they still can't tab out consistently without a reminder, and their lack of tabbing out will often mess with them in certain spread sheet applications. It's been so painful for me to watch these folks struggle with healthy "tab out habits" that I've signed up to become a Hypnotist in hopes of being able to assist them better with the adoption of this simple task !?!?
3) "Format" menu > Text Wrapping
Prior to December 2013, Google did not offer the "overflow" option for text in a cell. Without the overflow option, one of the most powerful and little known uses of Excel, which is list management, was impossible to do efficiently in Google Sheets. When google added the overflow option as the default option for cells, the entire universe shifted, and few felt a thing!!! It really was that big of a deal... who'd a thunk it, right?
To change the behavior of a cell as it relates to display it's contents, highlight a cell or cells, and select Format>Text Wrapping...
1) Overflow -- This is currently the default setting for all cells on a google sheet. This allows the text to "overflow" into the next cell to the right if it does not all fit in the cell. The image on the right shows the text "The cat ran up the hill" flowing from column F to Column G. Note that overflow will NOT work for numeric values in cells nor for dates. The only cell content that will overflow is text.
2) Wrap -- The wrap text button will honor the column width by adding lines for all text that wont fit on a prior line. As with overflow, this only works for text.
3) Clip -- The clip function simple cuts off the visibility of text, numbers or dates at the end of the cell.
To change the behavior of a cell as it relates to display it's contents, highlight a cell or cells, and select Format>Text Wrapping...
1) Overflow -- This is currently the default setting for all cells on a google sheet. This allows the text to "overflow" into the next cell to the right if it does not all fit in the cell. The image on the right shows the text "The cat ran up the hill" flowing from column F to Column G. Note that overflow will NOT work for numeric values in cells nor for dates. The only cell content that will overflow is text.
2) Wrap -- The wrap text button will honor the column width by adding lines for all text that wont fit on a prior line. As with overflow, this only works for text.
3) Clip -- The clip function simple cuts off the visibility of text, numbers or dates at the end of the cell.
4) A ToDo List in a Spreadsheet!?!
This is the flexible digital tool you've been missing and you never knew how simple it could be to make yourself.
1) In the left 2 columns (1) enter some 'stuff coming up'. This is your scratch pad.
2) In the middle two columns (2) list the things you need to do today in the order you want/need to do them. So for example the Run Errands list of Costco, Walmart, Santa Fe and Produce stand is in the order in which I'll drive from one to the next.
3) In process (3) is a place where things are put when the ball is out of my court but I want to remember there's still a ball in play...
4) List of Lists (4) is the area where I list items I need to purchase or things I need to do by vendor. All I listed here was purchase items. I could just as easily have something related to todos here like "Post office" -- mail letter, pickup 2 priority mail boxes, check post office box
1) In the left 2 columns (1) enter some 'stuff coming up'. This is your scratch pad.
2) In the middle two columns (2) list the things you need to do today in the order you want/need to do them. So for example the Run Errands list of Costco, Walmart, Santa Fe and Produce stand is in the order in which I'll drive from one to the next.
3) In process (3) is a place where things are put when the ball is out of my court but I want to remember there's still a ball in play...
4) List of Lists (4) is the area where I list items I need to purchase or things I need to do by vendor. All I listed here was purchase items. I could just as easily have something related to todos here like "Post office" -- mail letter, pickup 2 priority mail boxes, check post office box
I've done a a few things on this spread sheet that took less than a minute to do (the keystrokes for these are NOT documented in the screen shot -- this is just the same screen shot as above):
A spreadsheet is the best tool going for list management bar none and using one on Google Drive is paradigm altering from a data access perspective. Colors and accents can be used very quickly to assist with visual organization (although truth be told, I don't color anything and I'd discourage you from getting too creative with the colors too)
At this time, spend about 3-5 minutes adding "something" to your !ToDo list and then move on to the next step. Put some things in a few cells and then try to move them around by selecting a cell with content and then grabbing the top center of the cell and moving the content. We are going to circle back to this ToDo List later when I'll give you a lot more detail as to how I use this and how I move things around -- just get something in your spreadsheet so we can show you the next detail which is when things should start coming together for you regarding the use of GSheets for your todo list needs.
- I merged the cells on the top row (row 1) by highlighting those cells and selecting the merge button on the top menu. I did that so I could then center the word Todos across the 6 columns. Then I colored that top, merged cell grey by selecting it and using the fill tool on the top menu
- I colored some other cells by selecting the cells and then using the fill tool on the top menu.
- I changed the width of some of the columns by grabbing the bar between the column letters and dragging left and right.
- I right justified a few of the cells in column A just because I wanted the word closer to the list of items associated with it. Truth be told, I meant to right justify "website" too, but forgot to.
A spreadsheet is the best tool going for list management bar none and using one on Google Drive is paradigm altering from a data access perspective. Colors and accents can be used very quickly to assist with visual organization (although truth be told, I don't color anything and I'd discourage you from getting too creative with the colors too)
At this time, spend about 3-5 minutes adding "something" to your !ToDo list and then move on to the next step. Put some things in a few cells and then try to move them around by selecting a cell with content and then grabbing the top center of the cell and moving the content. We are going to circle back to this ToDo List later when I'll give you a lot more detail as to how I use this and how I move things around -- just get something in your spreadsheet so we can show you the next detail which is when things should start coming together for you regarding the use of GSheets for your todo list needs.