"Do you know the most efficient superhero today, in terms of lives saved per dollar? ...It's Speedsheet , who can analyze spreadsheets at speeds far beyond those of mortal men. Honestly, I'm not even sure she's really super. She might just be an incredibly boring person." Every skill, sufficiently practiced, becomes a superpower. And don't worry that it will make you boring: having an expert-level skill is never boring.

In 2024, I read Nikhil Suresh's " I Will F'ing Dropkick You If You Use that Spreadsheet " and I'm probably due for a drop-kicking. I've taught myself some other languages and methods, but the spreadsheet is just so versatile!

Or Some Principles I’ve Learned the Hard Way

Unlike any of the "tools I've built to make life easier" posts, I own all of the code for this one. In my spare time on a personal computer I built a software backend for a small local business that lets the owner manage their inventory with much less manual work. Because I use a PC and Excel and the end-user uses a Mac and Numbers, we met in the middle and built the tool using Google Sheets. I taught myself Google Apps Script (GAS), which is a form of JavaScript to create similar automation as my previous experience with Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), and because it was cloud-based the tool is actually more versatile: it runs on mobile devices and interfaces directly with Square, which the business uses for Point of Sale (POS) management. Previous posts in this series: Overlap tool Follow-up through Outlook, OneNote, and To Do RFQ / CBF SAP tool Change Board Shortage report   Headline improvement: from 1 day to 30 minutes (90%) My client Little Bab...