Time management using Excel is wrong, isn’t it

Almost in every office, employees use computers to plan working time and manage tasks. Most of the computers have Microsoft Office package with Excel. Then perhaps using Excel will be the number one question to be answered. Employees can achieve better time management using Excel. This statement makes sense of using Excel spreadsheets to develop schedules, calendars and to-do lists. Excel spreadsheet allows making calculations in cells and rows. Employees can use formulas to sum up time spent on tasks and compare time planned against time consumed. Perhaps, MS Excel may become the best solution for office employees who need to do their tasks on schedule and within budget.

But why most employees do not achieve efficient job scheduling in Excel? The answer is that this software is not a time management program but it is a spreadsheet designing solution. The package has powerful functionality for making data calculations and building diagrams. Many employees tried to use this functionality to plan tasks and schedule working time. They created Excel sheets that include time estimates and charts. Some employees even tried to use Excel templates for managing projects.

The only argument for sheets is about data management and calculation features. Probably, MS Excel software may be convenient for creating job estimates that show working hours required for completing tasks of employees. It may be also convenient for designing tables and spreadsheets that accumulate information about working time consumed by employees.

But should we say that using Miscrosoft Excel is right? Most likely, we shouldn’t say that, and the argument for this answer is that each specific example of software should be used in line with its original purpose. MS Excel is designed for the purpose of making data calculation in spreadsheets, not for planning and managing time.

Time management Excel templates won’t give you all the benefits of time planning comparing to original time management software. You can try VIP Task Manager that gives powerful tools for planning and tracking time consumption. VIP Task manager allows using schedules, to-do lists and templates to manage tasks and projects