The question itself reveals a tension worth naming: you have a spreadsheet that does real work, yet it only comes alive when you open it. That is not a workflow. That is a handshake with a ghost. If you are asking how to refresh Power Query every two hours without touching the file, you have already outgrown the tool's default rhythm, and the answer is not another manual reminder or a sticky note on your monitor.
What you are really asking for is a shift in how data moves through your day. Power Query can pull, clean, and shape data with impressive consistency, but its refresh cycle is tied to the Excel application lifecycle. The file must be open, or the query sleeps. That means your two-hour refresh requires either a scheduled task that opens the workbook, a macro-enabled file that triggers on open, or a service layer like Power Automate or Power BI that runs the refresh on its own clock. The first option is brittle, the second is clever but fragile, and the third is the direction worth exploring for anyone serious about automation.
Here is the practical truth: if you are scheduling refreshes every two hours, you do not need a better Excel trick. You need a different execution environment. Excel is an excellent analysis surface, but it was never designed to be a background service. It wants to be opened, used, and closed. When you force it into a server-like role, you spend more time babysitting the mechanics than benefiting from the output. That is not a failure on your part. It is a limitation of the tool, and naming that limitation is the first step toward a more sustainable setup.
So, what should you do? Start by asking whether the two-hour cadence is truly necessary or simply a habit. If it is real, move the refresh upstream. Use Power Automate to trigger a refresh on a schedule and push the results to a shared location. Or consider Power BI, which handles scheduled refreshes natively and does not require anyone to have the file open. The spreadsheet becomes the output, not the engine. That distinction matters more than any single formula or query step. You are not automating a table. You are automating trust in the data, and that trust should not depend on whether someone remembers to open a file. Build the refresh into the system, not the routine, and the two-hour window becomes a feature instead of a chore.