Hi Reader,

Welcome to the Google Sheets Tips newsletter #381, your Monday morning espresso, in spreadsheet form!

Since last week, the weather in the Mid-Atlantic region has been even more volatile than that mission critical spreadsheet your non-technical boss "fixed" recently. We had a day over 80F, followed by a wild 50F drop to temps in the 30's and snow squalls.

And later today, we're forecast to have a severe thunderstorm and possible tornadoes. It's threatening enough that schools in this region have closed for the day. Of course, my boys are delighted to have an extra day off school. Since I work from home, that makes it kinda like a "bring your kids to work" day. Or perhaps I should call it a "keep your kids at work day".

Today, we're revisiting the idea of a front info sheet but extending the concept to create an all-in-one hub for your projects with smart chips. Check it out below.

➜ News

I.
​Big updates coming for Gemini in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive. Looks like a big step forward in capability. This is a paid update for Pro and Ultra subscribers.

​Read more here >>​

II.
​An interesting discussion predicting the end of spreadsheets:

​Read more here >>​

Personally, I think spreadsheets will follow software development, where we'll move from builder to architect, describing what we want the spreadsheet to do. But the 2-D grid is so ubiquitous and familiar that I think it will endure. The grid is to data what paper is to ink.

What do you think?

Book Launch: For the Python Devs Here... We all use AI, but few of us understand the mechanics behind the scenes. And Machine Learning—systems that learn from patterns in data rather than explicit rules—is at the very heart of this AI revolution. My good friend and data science educator extraordinaire, Kevin Markham, has just published his first book: a practical guide to building Machine Learning models with Python. I met Kevin over a decade ago when we taught together at General Assembly, in Washington DC. Data science was just taking off as the hot new field in technology, and Kevin was at the forefront of teaching it. I'm thrilled to see him condense his years of knowledge into this new book. It's not a beginner book, but if you work with Python, it'll be an invaluable asset. In addition to the paperback, it's available to read for free online. Buy the book on Amazon

➜ Sheets Tip #381: The "Everything Hub" for your Projects 🌎

I’ve talked about the "Front Sheet" or "Info Sheet" strategy before (see issue 238). It’s a dedicated first tab in your Google Sheet that acts as a Table of Contents for your workbook.

But today, we're giving it an upgrade using Smart Chips.

Smart chips (accessed via the "@" menu) allow you to embed data-rich objects directly into your cells. This makes your navigation sheet much more powerful than a simple list of hyperlinks.

Instead, it becomes an Everything Hub for your project, with links to important Google Drive folders, slide decks, or other sheets, and even calendar events or key stakeholders.

For example, here is the Everything Hub sheet of my main planning spreadsheet for the new Gemini course I'm working on:

And in detail, you can see that I have links to the most important external folders and documents for easy access:

How to build your own Everything Hub

It's easy to create a simple Everything Hub.

1. To start, add a new sheet to your spreadsheet.
2. Add a title and a short description.
3. Add a list of links to other parts of the Sheet or external resources using hyperlinks.
4. Add the key project resources, such as important Drive folders, files, stakeholders, or even key dates, using smart chips. Type "@" into a cell followed by the name of a folder or file to add it:

To finish, add as much or as little visual styling as you want.

Never lose track of your project files again!

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please forward it to a friend who might enjoy it.

Have a great week!

Cheers,
Ben

P.S. Why spend money on AI tools when Chipotle's support bot is free... ​