Becoming a Google Sheets Pro: What You Need to Know

Whether you want to maximize your productivity with Google Sheets or unlock its full potential, you might be thinking of taking a Google Sheets Course. And you’re wondering.. But I can just knock around a bit, watch a few youtube videos and get it. There’s so much information available! Yes there is! There’s tons of free YouTube videos. I make my own Free YouTube videos at Youtube.com/BetterSheets

Look, you’re reading this no, but 10 years ago I watched a ton of YouTube videos and read a ton of blogs. Mostly by Labnol. And then I spent 10 years professionally using sheets. And I think I can tell you a ton of valuable information from what I learned outside the videos. And the only way I know how to share that with you is if you look over my shoulder, while I do it, in sheets.

So yes there’s videos here. But I’ve gone far beyond a normal “Google Sheets Course” with Better Sheets. You have access to Tutorials, yes. And Templates. And Tools. And more coming every month.

If you watched a video a day for a year, I bet you won’t get through all 300 videos, because by that time I’ve added another 100 videos. Updates and new ideas. Better practices and more inspiration come to me every day! I get to see what 5,000 students are doing. I get more questions than you could ever imagine.

And every question I get is very hard. Because if you had a question about Google Sheets you would just google it. It’s been Googled, and no answer found. So students come to me. And boy oh boy, I can tell you there are some doozy of questions.

You benefit from that roughness. You benefit because most of the questions, I do answer. There’s almost always a workaround, or a solution that wasn’t easily Google-able.

When Google fails answering your Google Sheets Question, come to Better Sheets.

Watching even 1 video every day, get 1% better every day and soon you'll be a Google Sheets Wizard!

What are the benefits of taking a Google Sheets course?

To learn from other’s mistakes,and see best practices with your own eyes, instead of trying to figure everything out for yourself through trial and error. Teachers and course creators who have many students also have the ability to synthesize the information they learn from their students over time and work it back into the course. The courses are better on ramps to certain topics than just going it alone. It can be very lonely to keep reading and reading and watching. A good course should be like a conversation, not a lecture.

How long does it take to complete a Google Sheets course?

Some courses are as little as 20 minutes long and some in Better Sheets are 3 hours. But the best thing to keep in mind is that you can always be learning. Better Sheets is constantly being updated and added to. So you’ll never “finish”. Just like you will never finish working.

While it my be daunting to think about never finishing something, it’s a mindset that might empower you to learn more.

What topics are covered in a Google Sheets course?

Data Analysis

These videos deal with formulas and functions you may encounter a lot. Or ones you may never have seen before. You’re a gold rusher, heading for the hills. You got your pickaxe and bucket. With these fantastic functions you can make sure to get the right gold, at the right time.

Data Management

You got messy data. It's keeping you up late at night trying to manage it. You copy. You paste, and repeating too many tasks. These videos help you manage that data without having to use automation.

Aesthetics & Design

Every house is a home, if you decorate it. Every home still needs to be livable, functional, useful. These videos not only make your sheets look good, they also help your sheets function. Meaning you won’t be looking around for hidden columns, you won’t have to tell people twice where to put the damn data.

Automation

You can learn to read and write Google Apps Script. You find yourself doing rote tasks. Again and again, day after day. While designing better sheets makes your life in the sheets better. There’s far more life outside the sheets. Here are the videos that help you record simple tasks and repeat them without fail.

Sheet Reviews

Get inspiration by seeing how to improve a single sheet. Learn tips, tricks and hacks holistically. Discover what makes some sheets go from great to Godtier

Build Your Own Tools

Master Google Sheets by building tools you'll use again and again. Build useful spreadsheets you can do crazy things with. Writers, rewriters, generators, calculators, and so much more.

How much does a Google Sheets course cost?

A normal Google Sheets course might cost hundreds of dollars for a single course. Consisting of a specific amount of videos and not updated unless you buy subsequent versions, or the creator goes on to make other courses beyond the scope of what you’d like.

Better Sheets offers a lifetime price for everything, including every course, video, sheet, template, and tool. Also a monthly price to gain instant access to all video tutorials.

What are the prerequisites for taking a Google Sheets course, like Better Sheets?

You must have access to Google Sheets. While Google Sheets is free and available online, it’s best to have a Google workspace account so you can clearly have access to everything Google has to offer. You don’t need to be a power user of Google Sheets yet. But Better Sheets does work best with people who have used Google Sheets for some years and are looking to get more out of the spreadsheet software.

What skills can you learn from a Google Sheets course like Better Sheets?

Ideally you’ll learn better design practices so that you can better communicate your ideas inside of spreadsheets. You’ll learn how to read and write Apps Script to automate your business practices and speed up your business processes. I want to impart to every Better Sheets member that Google Sheets can be fun and fulfilling instead of dreadful and daunting. Exploring great sheets, and implementing via creative play in sheets are pillars of Better Sheets learning.

How do I choose the right Google Sheets course for me?

If you’re looking for specific knowledge transfer, there are many great platforms that have optimized for certain key words. You’ll find those courses and platforms by searching for exactly the words you want to learn. While Better Sheets is about exploration, creative play, and total innovation in your experience inside of sheets. If you’re looking for more fun along with your functionality, join Better Sheets. But if you’re looking for straight ahead step-by-step tutorials, I do have some but most of Better Sheets is exploring what ELSE is possible. While it might seem weird, it’s going to be fun.

What are some common Google Sheets formulas and functions taught in courses?

The most common featured formula in Better Sheets is IF() You can find many tutorials featuring the IF() formula here: https://bettersheets.co/formulas/if

A common formula pairing is INDEX / MATCH, which is a great alternative to VLOOKUP. Better Sheets features that a lot in videos.

Also FILTER() is useful and so it shows up in Better Sheets tutorials often.

And CONCATENATE() because even though the name is tough, it’s easy to use and useful with text.

Even uncommonly used but incredibly easy to mess up formulas are featured in Better Sheets tutorials: SUMIF() as well as COUNTIF()

SUMIF(): https://bettersheets.co/formulas/sumif

COUNTIF(): https://bettersheets.co/formulas/countif

One feature of Better Sheets is the Formulas Database at BetterSheets.co/formulas

Discover how many formulas are used in tutorials directly from the database. Explore the syntax, and descriptions of oft neglected formulas. Watch out, might cause creativity sparks!

How can a Google Sheets course improve my job prospects?

Mastering Google Sheets means you can manage your data, your time, your team. Even just improving your management skills, (data or people) by a little bit can be the difference between promotions or layoffs. Automation of sheets can help you build internal tools in small startups, or manage large teams and vast responsibilities in larger corporations.

Google Sheets are equally used across hundreds of thousands of companies and can be a key difference if you’re freelancing on your own.

What are some tips for getting the most out of a Google Sheets course?

While others might say “set some goals, or objectives” I think the best thing to do is to explore. Just jump in and get started. Everything is daunting and surreal when you’re starting.

Apply your learning early. If you’re watching a video on Apps Script, try typing it out. While Better Sheets offers the sheet for all members to download and copy, it’s a great practice to type it out, use the formulas yourself. Try Apps Script for once. It’s just two clicks away and it’s free for all Google Sheets users!