Have you ever wondered how Excel knows how to sort month names or days of the week? It sounds simple, until you realize that there is no consistent logic (like ascending/descending values or alphabetical ordering) that tells Excel that Wednesday should always fall between Tuesday and Thursday. The answer? Custom sort lists.

In this tip, we’ll take a look at some of Excel’s built-in sort lists, and practice defining one of our own.

COMMON USE CASES:

• Organizing fields which can’t be sorted using standard tools or sorting logic
• Creating custom fiscal calendars to override standard month sorting