Open your spreadsheet and click on the cell where you want the result to appear. Maybe it’s the bottom of a column of test scores or your weekly budget. Then type: =AVERAGE(.
Now, highlight the cells you want to average—say, from A2 to A10. Excel will automatically fill in the range as A2:A10. Close the parenthesis and hit Enter. Boom. You’ve got your average. It’s honestly embarrassing how easy this is compared to manual counting.
Pro tip (from someone who learned the hard way)
Don’t include the cell where you’re typing the formula in your range. I once did that and created a self-referencing black hole that broke my entire sheet. Excel didn’t crash, but my dignity did.
