For someone who uses Excel or Google Sheets for lists and arithmetic but needs reliable tables, formulas, analysis, dashboards, and handoff. Examples use universal spreadsheet concepts; exact menu names may differ by version.
Course 10 · Digital playbook 03
Master Excel & Google Sheets for Work
Build clean tables, reliable formulas, summaries, dashboards, and quality checks in Excel or Google Sheets.
What you’ll leave with
A decision-ready workbook with structured data, formulas, pivot analysis, a concise dashboard, and error controls.
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Watch first
A useful primer before lesson one.
This video is published by Kevin Stratvert. It complements the Life Starter sequence; it does not replace the work inside the lessons.
Watch directly on YouTubeKevin StratvertPivot Table Excel TutorialYouTube
Course handbook
Know the route before you begin.
This is the working brief for the full course: who it serves, what to prepare, what good work looks like, and the language you will use along the way.
- Download the practice workbook and preserve an untouched original copy.
- Choose a small, non-sensitive dataset with a known business question.
- Write definitions for each field, unit, date, status, and missing value.
- Decide who will use the finished file and what they need to decide from it.
Finish with proof you can use.
An auditable workbook with a clean source-data table, documented calculations, controlled inputs, a refreshable pivot analysis, a decision-focused dashboard, validation checks, instructions, and a read-only handoff copy.
Three operating principles
The rules behind the steps.
One row, one record
Rectangular source data with stable headers and consistent types makes formulas, pivots, filters, and imports dependable.
Separate input, logic, and output
Raw data, calculations, assumptions, and presentation should not be mixed so heavily that changes become dangerous.
Auditability beats cleverness
A colleague should be able to trace a result, identify assumptions, and refresh it without relying on your memory.
Working vocabulary
Key terms worth knowing.
- Record
- One complete entity or event represented by a row in a well-structured table.
- Absolute reference
- A cell reference such as $B$2 that remains fixed when a formula is copied.
- Lookup key
- A stable field used to match records across tables, ideally unique where required.
- Pivot table
- An interactive summary that groups and aggregates records without changing source rows.
- Reconciliation
- A check that totals, counts, or records agree with a trusted source or expected control.
Your routeSix lessons.
Six lessons.
One finished outcome.
Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.
- 1Up next
Structure clean data
Create a table that formulas, pivots, charts, and other people can trust.
- 235 min
Write reliable formulas
Build calculations that remain correct when data grows or copies across cells.
- 334 min
Clean and join data
Standardize messy inputs and connect tables without silently losing records.
- 429 min
Analyze with pivot tables
Summarize a large table by the dimensions that matter to a decision.
- 533 min
Design a decision dashboard
Present the few metrics, trends, and exceptions needed for a recurring decision.
- 626 min
Audit and hand off
Make the workbook maintainable by someone who did not build it.
Use the tools
See all tools Make the lesson easier to act on.
Source transparency
Trust, then verify.
The practice sequence is original editorial synthesis. Current rules, safety details, and platform requirements should be confirmed with these primary or authoritative sources. References reviewed September 9, 2026.
Ready when you are
Start lesson one Start with the first useful move.
You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.
Open collaboration ideaHelp keep this complete course free.
Illustrative fit—not a recommendation: Productivity suites, training, data tools
See open opportunities