10 Time-Saving Google Sheets Features Every Beginner Should Know

Google Sheets time saving features makes you a productivity master. These features not only saves time but also increases your efficiency. There are plenty of ways we can save tons of time with Google Sheets. There are functions, formulas, and templates that help us do various tasks efficiently. That’s why everyone should learn Google Sheets. Learning a new application takes time and has a learning curve. Google sheets don’t have a steep learning curve that makes it easy to learn for beginners.

To learn Google Sheets you can get started with zero experience or with basic spreadsheet knowledge. Templates make it easier to create a first sheet to manage projects, create gantt charts, and to-do lists. At sheets.google.com you can access the template library. 

Let’s explore some of the features Google Sheet offers,

Formulas and functions

Formulas and functions make calculations easy. There are plenty of complex formulas which data analysts use to crunch numbers and get insights from data. 

With pivot tables and charts we can create awesome dashboards. Dashboards make our data easy to understand. With interactive dashboards we can get insights and future projections. 

Functions like PMT can save tons of time to calculate the payment for a loan based on payments and interest rate.

Autosave and Back-Up

Google sheets auto-save functionality saves data so we don’t have to save it, resulting in efficiency. It also keeps backup so we can restore data and reinstate sheets as they were. So no more saving versions of spreadsheets based on edits. You can simply check history and restore it anytime.

Collaboration

The main thing about Google sheets is collaboration – as many people can work simultaneously on a single sheet it’s easy to collect data from various collaborators.

Formulas like the ImportRange syncs data so you don’t need to update it every time, and it keeps data accurate so there are less errors. As a result you spend less time on corrections, edits and other things resulting in more time for important tasks.

Google Sheets Mobile App

Google sheets are also available on mobile so you don’t need to connect to your laptop or desktop to work. You can do some quick edits on the go that saves time. Tasks like adding a new entry or changing some values would save time and help you manage your spreadsheets effectively.

But the mobile version has some limitations, so you won’t be able to perform each and every task that you perform on the desktop. 

With AppSheet you can create your own app. It can make your mobile interface more user-friendly.

Real-time sync with other apps

Add-ons like Supermetrics pull data from other sources  like Facebook and make easy connections. You can create Facebook reports and dashboards from these connected data. 

If you are building any project where you need to pull data from other websites then the ImportHTML function is really helpful.

You can connect sheets with Looker Studio so with a simple refresh you can sync your Google Sheet and create real-time reports.

Google sheets can be integrated or synced with Google Slides for presentations. You can create a real-time synced presentation with Google Slides that would show the latest data from a synced spreadsheet on a simple refresh.

With all these integrations Google Workspace comes as a time saving applications suite. 

Automation

Some manual repetitive tasks increases the chances of making mistakes. We can simply automate them with macros. Macros increases tasks efficiency and make the end result less error-prone resulting in more time for important projects.

Easy to use and understand

Complex software have steep learning curves that overwhelms users with too many options resulting in frustration. Users often stop learning and using the application.

Google Sheets minimalist design makes it less overwhelming and intuitive.

Data Analysis and Visualization

Google Sheets’ explore feature is quite handy to get some real quick insights and valuable information. Stats from columns is also a function that would give you insights on column numbers.

Two Google Apps that are helpful to data analysis, visualization and collection are Looker Studio and Form. Let’s discuss them in more detail.

Looker Studio formerly Data Studio 

Just like Google Sheets, Looker Studio is also very easy to learn.

With it you can create reports and dashboards. There are many advanced chart types to create your dashboards which can save your time to get insights out of any data.

You can connect Google Sheets and many more sources and make your reporting easier with automated daily, weekly, and monthly reporting. 

Google Forms

Google forms makes data entries a lot easier. Anyone can submit data and you can manipulate this information as you want. This also increases the data accuracy as you can restrict data format. It would also be helpful to get data from users without sharing your spreadsheet, for example tasks like collecting customer feedback. 

Conclusion

Today there are lots of distractions and as a result we often feel overwhelmed. We often spend hours on scrolling the internet that’s affecting all of us. Social media and the internet has been stealing our time and affecting our focus.  Time management and productivity has been a challenge for all of us.

Thankfully Google sheets can save a lot of time and make us productive. It keeps us connected with other platforms and collaborates with others so we can be on the same page.

So start using Google Sheets and workspace to save time.