Subsection 3.1
When one cell should have been four
Reading
The single most common spreadsheet sin is putting two pieces of data in one cell. “Full Name” in one column. “Address” in one column. “Contact info” in one column with the phone and email crammed together.
Every one of these breaks a campaign decision the moment you try to use it. You cannot:
- Filter the unit by ZIP code.
- Sort the unit by last name.
- Compare housecall coverage across worksites.
- Merge an external file by email.
So the move is the same every time: diagnose which columns should have been multiple columns, then split them.
When one cell should have been more
| You see | It should be | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
Maria Elena Vasquez | First, Middle, Last | You cannot sort or alphabetize by last name. |
1247 MLK Jr Dr SW, Atlanta, GA 30310 | Street, City, State, ZIP | You cannot build a housecall route by ZIP. |
maria@local1.org / 770-555-0143 | Email, Phone | You cannot text the unit or send an email blast. |
2026-03-04 cards signed | Date, Status | You cannot calculate days since the event. |
Action: Mark this page complete when you have finished the activity above.