To help others identify whether they might be more than just social spreadsheeters, I started to compile a list of telltale signs of Excelaholism. I would welcome additions that any of you might have—just add a comment with your own examples.
- You have more than 100 spreadsheets on your hard drive. ( I have 2,375.)
- You use spreadsheets as a database. (Well, you can sort, filter, and search—duh! What else do you need?)
- You use Excel to lay out your annual Holiday photo montage. (Oddly, it’s easier than Word. I should know.)
- You taught your kids how to use Excel before you taught them to clean their rooms. (Their data is organized; their rooms—not so much.)
- You begin to quiver when you see your spouse do a budget with a pencil and pad of paper. (I showed her how to do it in Excel! She still prefers her way! I hope I get to visit the kids on the weekends!)
- Friends call you up to find out how you do that conditional formatting thing.
- When those friends call you up, you don’t answer the phone because you’re working on a new spreadsheet to document your family tree.
- Your workbook with 147 tabs is so large it crashes your PC, so you go out and buy a machine with more memory. (You corporate finance people: don’t even pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. Your planning system? Your compensation system? Ring a bell?)
- Your to-do list is in Excel and – even though you are the only one who ever uses it – it is complete with macros, filters, and pushbuttons.
- You are not happy that your stock portfolio is sinking, but you are very excited to be able to be able to graph the trend in 3D.
I am also taking entries for the largest xls size. My biggest one is 27 meg, because it includes graphics, but I’ll bet someone can do better, especially you corporate users out there with the 100+ worksheets. Know what I'm talking about?
