Documenting a Day

Introduction & Feedback Integration

In my Week-Two draft I described how I used Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and a database to “document a day,” but I omitted the actual Excel calculations. Below I’ve added the missing spreadsheet work—complete with formulas and a percentage breakdown—and compare each application’s strengths and weaknesses based on that experience.

1. Word Processor (Microsoft Word)

Function & Experience:

• I wrote a journal entry in Word, capturing my morning routine, work tasks, family time, and evening projects.
• I used Styles for headings, bullets for task lists, and Comments to note ideas for later.

Advantages:

• Intuitive formatting tools (fonts, styles, spell-check) make long text easy to polish.
• Track Changes and Comments support collaboration and revision.

Disadvantages:

• Poor at handling calculations or data analysis—every time I wanted to total hours, I had to switch to another app.
• Can become unwieldy for complex layouts (tables and charts).

2. Spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel)

Function & Experience:

Activity	Hours
Sleep	7.0
Morning Routine	1.0
Work (AT&T Tech)	9.0
Lunch & Calls	1.0
Family Time	2.0
Study & Quizzes	1.0
Music Production	2.0
Total	23

Calculations:

Totaling Hours:

=SUM(B2:B8)

Calculating Percentages: In C2 enter:

=B2/$B$9

then format as percentage and drag down.

Activity	Hours	% of Day
Sleep	7.0	30.4%
Morning Routine	1.0	4.3%
Work	9.0	39.1%
Lunch & Calls	1.0	4.3%
Family Time	2.0	8.7%
Study & Quizzes	1.0	4.3%
Music Production	2.0	8.7%

Advantages:

• Powerful formulas (SUM, AVERAGE, PERCENTAGE) automate calculations.
• Dynamic updates—change one cell, and all related results update instantly.
• Charting tools turn data into visuals without extra software.

Disadvantages:

• Formula errors (wrong ranges or parentheses) can silently produce incorrect results.
• Steeper learning curve for complex functions and pivot tables.

3. Presentation (PowerPoint)

Function & Experience:

• I built a slide deck summarizing my “day,” embedding my Word excerpt, the Excel pie chart, and screenshots of my database queries.
• Used Master Slides for consistent formatting and Animations to reveal sections step-by-step.

Advantages:

• Great for visual storytelling—combines text, charts, and images seamlessly.
• Speaker Notes help guide live or recorded presentations.

Disadvantages:

• Easy to over-animate slides, which can distract rather than inform.
• Alignment and layout tools sometimes feel less precise than a page-layout program.

4. Database (Microsoft Access or Google Tables)

Function & Experience:

• I imported my Excel log into Access, creating a table of activities.
• Wrote a simple query to pull all entries longer than two hours and another to group time by category (“Work,” “Family,” etc.).

Advantages:

• Relational integrity prevents duplicate entries and enforces data types.
• Queries let you slice and dice data in ways spreadsheets can’t.

Disadvantages:

• Requires upfront design (defining fields, data types, relationships).
• Overkill for small datasets—introduces extra complexity when all you need is a quick sum.

Comparative Snapshot

Application	Core Strength	Key Use Case	Limitations
Word	Rich text authoring	Journaling, reports	No built-in calculations
Excel	Automated calculations	Time-tracking, data analysis	Formula errors, complexity
PowerPoint	Visual presentations	Sharing results with peers	Can become cluttered
Database	Structured storage/query	Advanced data manipulation	Setup overhead

Reflection

Adding the Excel calculations transformed my “documenting a day” from narrative to data-driven insight—suddenly I saw that I spend almost 40% of my waking hours working and under 5% on study. Each application played a distinct role: Word for storytelling, Excel for analysis, PowerPoint for communication, and Access for structured querying. Understanding their advantages and drawbacks helps me choose the right tool for each task—and plan my next day even more efficiently.