Author: Adam DuVander

From never-ending email updates to last-minute finishing touches on an overdue project, you have plenty on your plate at work. No matter how you currently manage it all, Excel can be a helpful addition to your project management tool kit. The popular spreadsheet software can help keep track of important dates and which members of your team are doing what.

Be it for a one-off project or an entirely new system for your processes, let’s take a look at two of the ways Excel can help you with project tracking: a timeline for projects and a chart to visualize it all.

Excel Project Tracker

Keeping track of key dates and how long it will take to accomplish each task in a larger project is essential to ensuring it goes off without a hitch. This kind of project tracking comes easy to Excel—just start by creating appropriate column headers and then fill in the details.

Some suggested headings include:

• Task name
• Status
• Who it’s assigned to
• Start date
• Completion date
• Duration
• Additional notes or comments

These headings can be as granular or big picture as you’d like. For example, some might opt for separate Internal due date and External/client due date columns. Once you choose the headings specific to your project and fill in the details, you’ve got yourself a fool-proof way of tracking your projects. However, you may wish to turn this into a more visually-pleasing way of looking at your project’s steps, as we’ll show below.

Make a PM Gantt Chart in Excel

Another way to communicate project management data? Make it visual with the help of a chart. Gantt charts are a popular option for project management purposes as they offer an easy way to schedule and track your progress. And what better place to create a chart than the same tool you use for project management? While Excel doesn’t include Gantts as a chart type, you can make one of your project tracking data with a customized Stacked Bar chart.

To start, open your Excel project tracking spreadsheet and ensure you have (or add!) separate data columns for task name and either:

• Start date and Duration OR
• Number of days since start date and number of days until the task is completed

Then, select only those data columns and follow the steps below.

1. Navigate to Insert → Bar Chart → Stacked Bar
2. Remove the Start dates’ fill by right-clicking the blue bars → Format Data Series… → Fill → No Fill
3. Since we want the first task at the top, let’s check the box for Categories in reverse order
4. Optional: delete the title and/or legend by clicking → Delete

The result is a beautifully formatted chart that shows your progress. Note that you can customize the colors of your chart and even save it as a template for future Gantts. But charts aren’t the only way to visualize your business data.

More Ways to Make Excel Work for Your Projects

Project management is important for any successful venture and an Excel spreadsheet is a cheap and effective place for your data. See more ways to use Excel as a PM tool. However, it’s not the only useful thing for which you can use Excel.

If your spreadsheet contains location data such as addresses, cities, states, or countries, you can also map out your data. Maps provide visual insights you may otherwise miss. Get a feel for where the majority of your markers (data points) are located, sort, group, etc. One such example applies if you send out quotes or estimates on behalf of your business. If so, you can create a proposal tracking map.

View Proposal Tracking Map in a full screen map

Your success counts on improving the percentage of proposals that are accepted, keep track of where in the world or region your proposals go, where they are most accepted, and how potential clients heard about your business. So the ability to sort by “Proposal Status” or “How They Heard About Us” is invaluable. See what you can gain from making a similar map for your business at batchgeo.com.

The novel coronavirus has plagued the world and the United States throughout 2020 and beyond. With a death count surpassing even the highest of early estimates, COVID-19 is incomparable to previous diseases. Even the most recent pandemic, 2009’s H1N1 (also known as “Swine Flu”), resulted in much fewer deaths.

But these diseases do have something in common: they each resulted in the declaration of a national emergency by the President of the United States. When this is proclaimed, the government can perform actions not normally allowed. Throughout American history, presidents have declared 69 of these emergency orders. Of these, 34 have since expired while another 35 are currently in effect, each having been renewed annually by the president.

To gain a better understanding of these emergencies, we’ll cover their eight categories, those that are current, and the presidents who declared the most. You can also view this information, and the location of each, on the map below.

View National emergencies in the United States in a full screen map

Each marker on the map comes from Wikipedia’s List of national emergencies in the U.S.. Each of these emergencies has been categorized, which you can read more about below.

National Emergency Categories

Most (46) of the U.S.’s national emergencies can be classified as sanctions (punishments one country puts on another country hoping for a change in behavior). Other common reasons for emergencies include:

• Trade (8)
• Military (5)
• Arms (3)
• Public health (2)
• Maritime (2)
• Economic (2)
• Legal (1)

Only one of the eight trade emergencies has remained intact: the Continuation of Export Control Regulations. As for military emergency orders, two of the five are ongoing: one from the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the 2019 Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States. You can group the map by the rest of the national emergencies to learn more. Otherwise, let’s take a closer look at how many emergency orders remain to this day.

The 35 Current National Emergencies

“Current” national emergencies include those that were created in the same year or emergency orders from previous years the current president renewed. As of early November 2020, 34 national emergencies have ended while 35 are current. Below you’ll find the current emergency declarations, starting with the most recent.

Emergency name	Date	Year	Category	President	Country
Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease COVID-19 Outbreak	March 13	2020	Public health	Trump	US
Blocking Property of Certain Persons Associated with the International Criminal Court	June 11	2020	Sanctions	Trump	Afghanistan
Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain	May 15	2019	Sanctions	Trump	China
Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States	February 15	2019	Military	Trump	Mexico
Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Interference in a United States Election	September 12	2018	Sanctions	Trump	Russia
Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Nicaragua	November 27	2018	Sanctions	Trump	Nicaragua
Blocking the Property of Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuse or Corruption	December 20	2017	Sanctions	Trump	Myanmar
Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Burundi	November 22	2015	Sanctions	Obama	Burundi
Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Venezuela	March 8	2015	Sanctions	Obama	Venezuela
Blocking the Property of Certain Persons Engaging in Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities	April 1	2015	Sanctions	Obama	North Korea
Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in the Central African Republic	May 12	2014	Sanctions	Obama	Central African Republic
Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine	March 6	2014	Sanctions	Obama	Ukraine
Blocking Property of Certain Persons With Respect to South Sudan	April 3	2014	Sanctions	Obama	South Sudan
Blocking Property of Persons Threatening the Peace, Security, or Stability of Yemen	May 16	2012	Sanctions	Obama	Yemen
Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations	July 24	2011	Sanctions	Obama	Mexico
Blocking Property and Prohibiting Certain Transactions Related to Libya	February 25	2011	Sanctions	Obama	Libya
Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in Somalia	April 12	2010	Sanctions	Obama	Somalia
Continuing Certain Restrictions With Respect to North Korea and North Korean Nationals	June 26	2008	Sanctions	Bush	North Korea
Blocking Property of Persons Undermining the Sovereignty of Lebanon or Its Democratic Processes and Institutions	August 1	2007	Sanctions	Bush	Lebanon
Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo	October 27	2006	Sanctions	Bush	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Blocking Property of Certain Persons Undermining Democratic Processes or Institutions in Belarus	June 16	2006	Sanctions	Bush	Belarus
Blocking Property of Certain Persons and Prohibiting the Export of Certain Goods to Syria	May 11	2004	Sanctions	Bush	Syria
Protecting the Development Fund for Iraq and Certain Other Property in Which Iraq Has an Interest	May 22	2003	Legal	Bush	Iraq
Blocking Property of Persons Undermining Democratic Processes or Institutions in Zimbabwe	March 6	2003	Sanctions	Bush	Zimbabwe
Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten To Commit, or Support Terrorism	September 23	2001	Sanctions	Bush	Afghanistan
Declaration of National Emergency by Reason of Certain Terrorist Attacks	September 14	2001	Military	Bush	Afghanistan
Blocking Property of Persons Who Threaten International Stabilization Efforts in the Western Balkans	June 26	2001	Sanctions	Bush	North Macedonia
Continuation of Export Control Regulations	August 17	2001	Trade	Bush	US
Blocking Sudanese Government Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Sudan	November 3	1997	Sanctions	Clinton	Sudan
Declaration of a National Emergency and Invocation of Emergency Authority Relating to the Regulation of the Anchorage and Movement of Vessels	March 1	1996	Maritime	Clinton	Cuba
Blocking Assets and Prohibiting Transactions with Significant Narcotics Traffickers	October 21	1995	Sanctions	Clinton	Colombia
Prohibiting Certain Transactions with Respect to the Development of Iranian Petroleum Resources	March 15	1995	Sanctions	Clinton	Iran
Prohibiting Transactions With Terrorists Who Threaten To Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process	January 23	1995	Sanctions	Clinton	Palestine
Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction	November 14	1994	Arms	Clinton	US
Blocking Iranian Government Property	November 14	1979	Sanctions	Carter	Iran

Of the 35 current national emergencies, seven were enacted by the recent Trump administration. That leaves 28 emergency orders in effect from past administrations the current president has continuously renewed. The oldest of these is the: Blocking Iranian Government Property (Executive Order 12170) from Jimmy Carter, who ordered the freezing of Iranian assets as part of the U.S. response during the Iran hostage crisis on November 14th, 1979.

The most recent national emergency is, of course, Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease COVID-19 Outbreak (Proclamation 9994) proclaimed by Donald Trump on March 13, 2020. Let’s see how the numbers of national emergencies of the recent president compare to his predecessors.

Presidents Who Declared the Most Emergency Orders

While ‘most national emergencies’ isn’t a typical goal of a new POTUS, there’s no denying some U.S. presidents declared more than others. And only one has proclaimed 15+ national emergencies throughout his terms. So which president was the host with the most? That honor goes to #42—Bill Clinton.

• Clinton – 17 national emergencies
• Bush – 13
• Obama – 12
• Trump – 7
• Reagan – 6
• Bush (H.W.) – 5

Of the 17 national emergencies Bill Clinton declared, 11 are no longer in effect. That leaves six that remain to this day. These can further be broken down into four of the national emergency categories: sanctions (11), trade (3), arms (2), and maritime (1) emergencies.

Aside from Clinton, both George W. Bush and Barack Obama declared more than ten national emergencies throughout their time in office. Two of Bush’s 13 proclamations followed the September 11 attacks. The first was the Declaration of National Emergency by Reason of Certain Terrorist Attacks on September 14 which was followed on September 23 by the Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten To Commit, or Support Terrorism. Both of these are still in effect, along with nine others.

Find More Meaning in Location Data

Each of the U.S.’s 69 Executive Orders or Proclamations were passed by the U.S. President to protect the country. Many were a result of issues inside the U.S. like Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease COVID-19 Outbreak (Proclamation 9994). However, some were in response to international incidents, i.e. Blocking Property of Persons Threatening the Peace, Security, or Stability of Yemen (Executive Order 13611).

As you saw on the map, Afghanistan and Russia were the subjects of the most emergency orders at four each while Iran was a hot topic of three. This is the sort of insight we may have missed had we just kept the data stored in Google Sheets or Excel.

When your spreadsheet contains geographic data like addresses, coordinates, or even just countries and the occasional city, how can you be expected to analyze the information? In these instances, free mapping tools like BatchGeo can help you find more meaning in your data with customizable maps.

A city’s walkability is important for those whose primary mode of transportation is their own two feet. Even if you’re not getting your 10,000 steps a day from walking around your city, it’s nice to have the option of walking to a grocery store located just a few blocks away. The most walkable cities in the US also tend to have the healthiest residents. Yet not every city is set up in a way that promotes walking. The walk score of major cities in the US, Canada, and Australia vary based on factors like “walking distance to amenities, population density, and road metrics such as block length and intersection density.” We’ll highlight the 10 best walkable cities in the US along with the least walkable cities and the other ways to sort the map (by transit and bike score) below.

View Most Walkable Cities in the US in a full screen map

The map was made using data we gathered from Walk Score. Walk Score identified the walkability of over 140 major cities in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Plotted on a map, you can visualize data trends like which coast is home to a majority of the 10 best walkable cities in the US.

The 10 Best Walkable Cities in the US

City officials know enhancing the walkability of their cities improves the health of current residents and may even attract more. After all, why would anyone not want to live in one of the most walkable US cities? However, the following 10 cities don’t need to make massive to increase walkability. Other cities may even want to take notes from the 10 most walkable US cities.

1. New York, New York
2. San Francisco, California
3. Jersey City, New Jersey
4. Boston, Massachusetts
5. Newark, New Jersey (tied with Philadelphia)
6. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (tied with Newark)
7. Miami, Florida
8. Chicago, Illinois
9. Washington D.C.
10. Seattle, Washington

When it comes to the most walkable cities, New York, New York is #1. Based on “walking distance to amenities, population density, and road metrics such as block length and intersection density,” New York, New York scores 88.3 out of a possible 100, the highest walk score of any city in the U.S. (and Canada and Australia). New York, New York’s walk score, along with all the other cities with a walk score of 70-89, indicates “most errands can be accomplished on foot.”

On the opposite end of the country, San Francisco, California earns second place of the most walkable cities in the US with a walk score of 87.4. Looking at the map, you may notice the most walkable cities in the US are nearly all located on one U.S. coast or another. However, the East Coast, specifically the Northeast, is most concentrated with walkable cities.

Throw a stone from Washington Square Park and you could hit three of the 10 most walkable cities in the US: the aforementioned New York City, Jersey City, New Jersey (walk score of 86.8), and Newark, New Jersey (78.8). Add in the Northeastern cities of Boston, Massachusetts (82), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (78.8), and Washington, D.C. (75.9) and over 50% of the best walkable cities are located in the Northeast. Miami, Florida is another Eastern coastal city (albeit a Southern one) with a top walk score of 77.6.

Far, far away, previously discussed San Francisco, California and Seattle, Washington (74) represent the West Coast in the 10 most walkable cities in the US. That leaves Chicago, Illinois (77.4) as the one city in the top 10 not located on a coast. But, you know what they say, Chicago is referred to as the “Third Coast”. With all the most walkable US cities located along coasts, we wonder where the least walkable cities in America are located.

Least Walkable Cities in America

We’ve discussed the most walkable cities in the US. Now it’s time to kick back and put your feet up just like those in the least walkable cities in America do.

1. Chesapeake, Virginia
2. Fayetteville, North Carolina
3. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
4. Jacksonville, Florida
5. Montgomery, Alabama
6. Charlotte, North Carolina
7. Anchorage, Alaska
8. Gilbert, Arizona (tied with Nashville-Davidson)
9. Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee (tied with Gilbert)
10. Durham, North Carolina (tied with Henderson)
11. Henderson, Nevada (tied with Durham)

Chesapeake, Virginia is the worst of the least walkable cities in the US (and Canada and Australia). Its walk score is just (21), making it a “car-dependent” city in which “almost all errands require a” vehicle. Not too far behind Chesapeake are two North Carolinian cities: Fayetteville (21.4) and Winston-Salem (23.4). These are the second and third least walkable cities in America though they aren’t from North Carolina to appear on the least walkable list. In fact, four out of the 11 least walkable cities are located in North Carolina, including Charlotte (26.3) and Durham (29).

Overall, cities in the Southeastern US appear to be the least walkable. Seven out of 11 of the least walkable cities are located in the Southeast, which includes the five cities in North Carolina. Additional Southeastern cities are Jacksonville, Florida (25.7), Montgomery, Alabama (26.1), and Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee (28.3). Rounding out the least walkable cities are two Southwestern outliers: Gilbert, Arizona (28.3) and Henderson, Nevada (29) along with Anchorage, Alaska (27.8). In addition to the best walkable cities in the US and the least walkable cities, there are other ways to sort the map.

Other Ways to Sort the Map: Transit & Bike Score

While a map displaying the walk score of more than 140 major cities in the US, Canada, and Australia is chock-full of fascinating insights, there are also other ways to sort the map. These include how each of the 140 cities fares in transit and biking.

Transit Score

Interestingly enough, the cities that score the best on transit scores are the same cities with the best walk scores. These familiar names include New York, New York (#1 in transit with a score of 84.3) and San Francisco, California (#2 in transit with a score of 80.3). Other top transit cities in the US are Boston, Washington D.C., Jersey City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Newark, and Seattle, all of which were among the most walkable cities. However, a city not included in the best walkable cities that has a high transit score is Arlington, Virginia.

Bike Score

As for bikes, New York and San Francisco didn’t quite make the cut. The city with the best bike score is Minneapolis, Minnesota. It scored 83.5 while Portland, Oregon has the second-best bike score of 82.4. Chicago once again pops up near the top as do Denver, San Francisco, Arlington, Boston, Jersey City, Seattle, and New York at #10.

As you can see, it’s possible to group a map by more than just one category. In this case, we were mainly focused on the walk scores of 140 major cities. But our data also included the transit and bike scores of those cities. Instead of just scrapping potentially useful data, you can utilize map grouping to group your custom maps by additional data you happen to already have. You can often get some unexpected insights into the other categories of your data with map grouping. Get started today.