Leila Gharani

Your Excel macro works on desktop. Then the file lands in Teams... and it’s useless.

That’s where Office Scripts comes in.

In this video, I'll show how to:

- record your steps in Excel for the web
- tweak the script so it works with changing data
- run it in Teams without the usual macro headache

If you still use VBA, but your files now live online, this is the upgrade path.

1 week ago | [YT] | 115

Leila Gharani

Your Excel formula isn't advanced. It's just unreadable.

You've seen the type. Maybe you wrote it.

A formula that calculates the same thing three times because there's no way to store a result and reuse it.

So you copy the same AVERAGEIFS or FILTER block into multiple spots.

The formula grows. It gets slower. And when you need to change one piece of logic, you have to find and fix it in four places.

There's a function that lets you name a calculation once, then reference it as many times as you want inside the same formula.

Shorter. Faster. Actually possible to read six months later.

Check out the video with clear examples and download the free practice workbook so you can try it with your own data.

What's the longest formula you have in a workbook right now?

1 week ago | [YT] | 128

Leila Gharani

We just passed 3,000,000 subscribers!

10 years ago, some of my corporate friends made fun of me for starting a YouTube channel. Fair enough. Corporate people didn't really take YouTube seriously back then.

But here's what 10 years and 3 million people taught me:

#1 - Don't box yourself in.

I deliberately never named my channel "Excel." I knew I didn't want to be stuck in one lane. But even then, it took me years to actually post something outside of Excel because I was scared my audience wouldn't approve.

Then last year, I posted something completely different. A Rubik's cube tutorial. Yes. A Rubik's cube! On an Excel channel.

That video now has nearly 3,000,000 views. It's actually still our #1 most watched video. Hundreds of people have commented that they finally solved a Rubik's cube because of it.

I almost didn't post it. If you're following you know I teach tools like Excel and Power BI. But I realized, my main thing is helping people solve problems. It doesn't always have to be Excel.

After all, I left corporate because I didn't want to be boxed in. It didn't make sense to create that box in my own business.

#2 - Do things you're passionate about and stop overthinking it.

The Rubik's cube wasn't a strategy. I just loved it. Not everything has to be strategy. What's the fun in work if you can't take some time and do things you love.

#3 - Know when to switch from "growth mode" to "sustainable mode."

For years, we posted every week. Then twice a week. There was a time we posted three times. I was terrified that if I stopped, everything would collapse.
Then I started getting stressed out. I was working on videos, courses, everything. And I had a YouTuber friend whose burnout got so bad he couldn't turn the camera on anymore. Beautiful channel. But he just couldn't do it anymore.

I took a month off. I didn't want to start hating what I loved.
Nothing collapsed. The channel was fine.

Your stats do go down when you post less. But you have to decide what matters more. I love teaching, and I want to keep doing this for a while. So I found a pace I can actually sustain.

It's like losing weight. You need the calorie deficit to get there. But at some point, you have to eat in a way you can live with. And only you know when that point is.

I'm grateful for 3 million. But that's just a number. What makes me happier is reading the comments below the videos from people sharing their wins. Whether it's solving a Rubik's cube or getting a promotion because they finally learned Power Query.

A big thank you for watching my videos and reading this post.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 5,469

Leila Gharani

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬. ✍️💼

Most people treat professional notes like they’re back in school—trying to capture every single word. Then two days later, your boss asks for a "next steps" summary, and you’re frantically scanning six pages of messy text. 😅

There is a better way. I use the Quadrant Method [02:35] to distill an entire 60-minute meeting into four clear "buckets" on a single page.

It forces you to identify:
✨ Questions that still need answers.
✨ Personal To-Dos with deadlines.
✨ Action Items for the rest of the team.
✨ General Insights that aren't just "transcriptions."

I also share the controversial reason why I think you should close your laptop and pick up a physical pen (or a tablet/stylus 🖋️).

Quick Question: Are you a "Write everything down" person or a "Just the highlights" person? I'm curious to see which side wins! 👇

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 176

Leila Gharani

Ever tried to add a second sheet to a PivotTable and realized... you can't? 🤔

Excel doesn't let you do it the obvious way.

So most people end up copy-pasting everything into one giant sheet and building from there.

That works until next month, when you have to do it all over again.

There's a better way. Two, actually. One stacks your sheets automatically.

The other connects them without merging anything. Both update with a single click when new data comes in.

I break down when to use each one.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 202

Leila Gharani

You can make Excel show "INV-4052" in a cell while the cell still holds the number 4052. 🤯

Formulas, SUM, everything still works. The text is invisible to Excel.


Most people don't know this exists because they reach for formulas or Flash Fill every time. Those work too, but they change your actual data.


This method doesn't.


I break down all three approaches (and when to use each) in the video.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 192

Leila Gharani

𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐛𝐨𝐱𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 🖱️⚙️

Most people see a simple toggle, but the real power is when you connect them to a formula. Imagine a row that automatically turns green and locks in a permanent timestamp the second you click it. No VBA required. 🧠⚡

In this video, I show you how to turn a simple "tick" into 5 different automations, including:

✅ The "Holy Grail" Timestamp: Locking in the exact second a task finishes.
✅ Self-Sorting Lists: Tasks that move themselves as you work.
✅ UI Feedback: Rows that change color and strike through instantly.

Quick Question: If you could check a box and have Excel automatically do one boring task for you, what would it be? 👇

4 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 217

Leila Gharani

My Windows key is literally worn out. ⌨️

Most people still do things the long way. These three shortcuts alone will save you 20 minutes a day:

Win + V: Clipboard history. Copy 5 things, paste whichever one you need. No more Alt-Tab back and forth.

Win + Shift + S: Grab any part of your screen cleanly. Perfect for dropping an Excel snippet into an email.

Win + Arrows: Snap two windows side by side instantly. No dragging.

I put these and 20+ more into a free 1-page PDF you can print and keep at your desk.

👇 Grab it here
www.xelplus.com/windows-11-keyboard-shortcuts-pdf-…

What shortcut did you stumble on by accident that you now use every day? Mine was Win + . for emojis. Completely changed how I write messages. 😂

1 month ago | [YT] | 551

Leila Gharani

*STOP OVER-COMPLICATING YOUR DASHBOARDS.* 📊✨

Your boss sends you a "McKinsey-style" chart and says: “I want our report to look like this.”

You don't need Power BI. You don't need fancy design software. You don't even need a standard Excel chart.

In this video, I show you how to recreate a pro-level ranked bar chart in under 90 seconds using the humble REPT function. It's the ultimate "secret" shortcut for clean, professional reports.

What you’ll learn:
✅ Build clean “chart-in-cells” that update automatically.
✅ Create custom styles with symbol swapping (stars, dots, boxes, even emojis! 🌟).
✅ Use the "Scaling Trick" for big numbers so your bars don't break.
✅ Add dynamic comments inside the bars.

(I’ve also included a link to my full Business Charts course in the video description for those who want my ready-to-use professional templates! 🎓)

QUICK QUESTION: If you could automate one "fancy" chart in Excel today, which one would it be: a Waterfall chart, a Gauge chart, or something else?
Let me know! 👇

1 month ago | [YT] | 94

Leila Gharani

THE "MAGIC BOX" FOR MESSY ACCOUNTING DATA 🪄📊

If you work in finance or accounting, you know the struggle of downloading data from SAP or Oracle only to find:
❌ Numbers that Excel doesn't recognize.
❌ European vs. US decimal formats (dots vs. commas).
❌ Annoying gaps and empty rows everywhere.

Most people spend hours cleaning this manually every single month. But there is a better way.

In this classic guide, I show you how to use Power Query to build a "Magic Box." Once you set up the steps, you never have to clean that data again.

Next month, you just hit Refresh and you’re done in seconds.

✅ Automate SAP/Oracle cleanups.
✅ Fix regional number formats instantly.
✅ Build a self-updating Summary Report.

Revisit this masterclass and stop the manual grind.

1 month ago | [YT] | 98