Handle Missing Data Consistently
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2025 10:34 am
1 hour): Decide how to treat blanks. Don't leave them empty if they should convey meaning. Fill with "N/A," "Unknown," or 0 for numerical fields. Consistency is key for clean visuals and accurate summaries.
Tools: Excel/Google Sheets functions (VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, IF, REGEXEXTRACT, date functions, basic arithmetic).
Amazing Factor Achieved: Your data is now richer, more meaningful, and perfectly consistent, making it incredibly powerful for analysis and visualization.
Day 3: Visual Polish - Formatting for Immediate Clarity
Goal: Make your data instantly readable and aesthetically pleasing within the spreadsheet itself.
Key Focus: Readability and visual hierarchy.
Actions:
Consistent Formatting (2-3 hours):
Headers: Apply bolding, a slightly larger font size, and a distinct but professional background color brother cell phone list (e.g., dark blue with white text).
Borders: Use subtle, light grey borders to delineate cells, making it easier to follow rows and columns. Avoid heavy, black gridlines.
Alternating Row Colors: Use Conditional Formatting (or Excel's "Format as Table" feature) to apply subtle alternating row colors. This drastically improves readability for large datasets.
Number & Date Formatting (1-2 hours):
Currency: Apply currency format ($, €, ₹) to money values.
Percentages: Format percentages as percentages (%) with appropriate decimal places.
Numbers: Use comma separators for thousands (e.g., 1,234,567). Standardize decimal places where relevant.
Dates: Choose one consistent date format (e.g., DD-MM-YYYY or MM/DD/YYYY).
Strategic Conditional Formatting (2-3 hours): This is where you make data pop!
Highlight Trends: Use color scales (e.g., green for high values, red for low values in a performance metric).
Flag Issues: Highlight rows or cells that meet specific criteria (e.g., "Status = 'Pending'," "Priority = 'High'").
Identify Duplicates: Use conditional formatting to automatically spot duplicate entries, which helps in final data scrubbing.
Optimal Column Widths & Alignment (1 hour): Adjust column widths to fit content without excessive wrapping. Align text left, numbers right, and dates usually center or right for consistency.
Tools: Excel/Google Sheets functions (VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, IF, REGEXEXTRACT, date functions, basic arithmetic).
Amazing Factor Achieved: Your data is now richer, more meaningful, and perfectly consistent, making it incredibly powerful for analysis and visualization.
Day 3: Visual Polish - Formatting for Immediate Clarity
Goal: Make your data instantly readable and aesthetically pleasing within the spreadsheet itself.
Key Focus: Readability and visual hierarchy.
Actions:
Consistent Formatting (2-3 hours):
Headers: Apply bolding, a slightly larger font size, and a distinct but professional background color brother cell phone list (e.g., dark blue with white text).
Borders: Use subtle, light grey borders to delineate cells, making it easier to follow rows and columns. Avoid heavy, black gridlines.
Alternating Row Colors: Use Conditional Formatting (or Excel's "Format as Table" feature) to apply subtle alternating row colors. This drastically improves readability for large datasets.
Number & Date Formatting (1-2 hours):
Currency: Apply currency format ($, €, ₹) to money values.
Percentages: Format percentages as percentages (%) with appropriate decimal places.
Numbers: Use comma separators for thousands (e.g., 1,234,567). Standardize decimal places where relevant.
Dates: Choose one consistent date format (e.g., DD-MM-YYYY or MM/DD/YYYY).
Strategic Conditional Formatting (2-3 hours): This is where you make data pop!
Highlight Trends: Use color scales (e.g., green for high values, red for low values in a performance metric).
Flag Issues: Highlight rows or cells that meet specific criteria (e.g., "Status = 'Pending'," "Priority = 'High'").
Identify Duplicates: Use conditional formatting to automatically spot duplicate entries, which helps in final data scrubbing.
Optimal Column Widths & Alignment (1 hour): Adjust column widths to fit content without excessive wrapping. Align text left, numbers right, and dates usually center or right for consistency.