2 Simple Excel Tricks: Post-It Notes and +/- Method (or grouping)

Not all Excel tools and functions require complicated math or processes; sometimes it’s just a simple productivity tool. I’m going to show you two that I’ve recently started using, one that appears more productive than the other.

First, here’s a full PDF that explains in slightly more details the 2 tricks I’ve been using and when I use them:

But to briefly highlight here, the first Excel trick I use – and practically all of the time – is what I call the Post-It Note. It literally operates as a post-it note.

Post-It Note

I use it mainly for my calendar for tasks or meetings that happens only once, i.e., the tasks or meetings are non-recurring. Creating it is simply a matter of inserting a shape. In the example below, off to the right is a snapshot of part of my calendar. All of those squares, aside from the main yellow square, are inserted rectangular shapes.

I’m blowing up the image so you can see it better.

Shapes could be any shape like circles, triangles, hearts but I imagine a rectangle is the best shape. As you probably guessed from the image, the shapes can be set to a certain color.

As you probably guessed from the image, the shapes can be set to a certain color. The image below is blown up so you can see the menu. Basically, once you select your shape sitting in your Excel tab, a menu option called Shape Format will appear and you will see Shape Fill where you can choose your desired color.

+/- Method

This one might not be used as much but it could come in handy for visual space in your reporting. Sometimes I wanted to have a space in the sheet for any comments or insights I’m seeing in the numbers or charts, so I reserve a row for those comments. But if I don’t have anything to say, and that can happen quite often, then those spaces may feel visually imbalanced, like something is missing.

The +/- method is a quick and easy method of hiding and unhiding those rows. I will unhide when I want to point out something and then I will hide when I have nothing to say and want to reduce large empty spaces.

You would have to play with this to see if this methodology would help your productivity and design.

Now to create it, you start off from where your comment rows reside, imagery again blown up for easy look at the details:

Now, you are going to highlight or select the rows that you might want to hide in the future when you have nothing to say. In the example below, I select rows 43 and 44:

Now, I’m going to group those rows. This menu option is found in the Data section.

Once you’ve grouped the rows, you will see the “-” icon off to the left. Now when you want to hide the rows because you have no comments to make, click on that “-“. The “-” icon will change to a “+” icon.

Any rows you’ve hidden can be opened back up by clicking on the “+” icon (which then changes to a “-” icon) and the row becomes unhidden, and you can make your comments.

I’m sure there are other uses you can make with that grouping option in the Data menu but that is how I’m currently using it.

There you have it, easy non-complicated Excel tools that doesn’t involve any math or complicated formulas or functions.