Realized I was wasting 3 hours daily on busy work at my accounting firm

I spent 2 years making spreadsheets look pretty before my manager told me nobody reads them. They just want the numbers, not the color coding. Anyone else get caught up making things perfect when the boss just wants the raw info?

2 comments

2 Comments

derekp702d ago

oh man, i feel this in my soul. i spent a whole week once making this color coded chart with little icons and everything for a project. my boss just looked at it and asked "where's the total?" i just pointed at it and he went "okay" and walked away. all that time making it look like a magazine layout for nothing. now i just give him the raw numbers in a plain table and he's happier. it's like we gotta learn the hard way that pretty doesn't pay the bills.

kevin_roberts412d ago

Man, I've been there. Best thing I ever learned was to ask what they actually need before spending time making it pretty. Now I just throw a simple table together first, get their feedback, then add the fancy stuff only if they actually want it.