Speed up Productivity in the Fast Lane with Keyboard Shortcuts

You’re Driving a Lamborghini in the Slow lane

So many professionals, especially educators are working on a computer at snail-speed, wasting days of work efficiency and don’t even know it.  We’re living in the future, but people still use bad habits we picked up in the 1990s. 

So what is slowing everyone down?  Clicking.  When most people are using computers, they over rely on the mouse to click their way through productivity…and it’s wasting their time and efficiency.  Need to copy some text?  Move that cursor up to the edit menu, mouse down to the copy button. Multiply that pattern throughout days over years and a life-long career, and the wasted time adds up. 

But using a mouse is a modern technology right?  So what’s the problem?

Clicking Through Menus is Like Driving 5 MPH in a Sports Car

Imagine driving a high-performance car, but going super slow– inching forward at an excruciating speed.  That’s the equivalent of using a mouse to perform many of the actions used on a computer.  Don’t get me wrong, there’s a time to use the mouse, but 80% of what you do on a computer doesn’t require a mouse.  People think that using the menu is the best way to edit in word processing, enter data in spreadsheets, or navigate the internet on a browser. 

You have a high-speed powered tool at your fingertips, but you’re moving as if you’re driving in a residential zone.

Some people think right-clicking and choosing the menu is the best way to access computer functions or clicking the copy button is the fastest way to work.  Others just get used to the slow pace of horse-drawn carriages and accept their fate of inefficiency and a frustrating work pace.  But it’s not just about getting faster at your work– it’s much more urgent than that. 

How Clicking Wastes 8 Days a Year

The real problem is you are wasting your time with a micro-bad habit that you repeat thousands of times over the course of your career.  In fact, Brainscape claims that “most people lose an average of 2 seconds per minute of work by switching back and forth from their mouse to keyboard, rather than employing keyboard shortcuts.”

2 seconds?!  That’s nothing!  Right?  

Wrong.

Let’s do some math. 

[2 wasted seconds/min] * [480 min /workday] * [240 workdays/year] = 64 wasted hours/year!

8 days a work year is equal to 3.3% of your total productivity.  This wasted time is compounded over a 40-year career, which means 320 days wasted in a work life. 

This is an instance amount of wasted of time. These micro-seconds can add up to micro-stresses that can compound over time, leading to professional and personal frustrations and inefficiencies.  

So, how can we get our time back and accelerate our workflow to focus on more important tasks?

Shift Gears with Keyboard Shortcuts

Taking your Technology Lamborghini into the fast lane is as easy as learning simple keyboard shortcuts.  Shortcuts allow you to instantly access tasks without navigating through menus.  For example, using keyboard commands like Ctrl + C = Copy saves you from wasting 2 seconds to switch to your mouse and navigate the toolbar.  It eliminates mouse movement and avoids the accumulation of lost time.  

It saves time and keeps you in the zone.  Leaving your hands on the keyboard will minimize interruptions and help you maintain a rhythm that lets you move a lot faster in your work.  Other benefits include multitasking, ergonomics, consistency across applications, and more.  

But you may be intimidated about jumping into the fast lane, so let me give you some simple steps to start pushing down the gas pedal.

3 Steps to Accelerate Your Workflow Today

To take back control of your time, start these simple steps to incorporate keyboard shortcuts into your productivity:

1. Learn and practice 1 new keyboard shortcut a week
2. Use sticky notes to help you remember
3. Keep a cheat sheet at hand for quick access

After a few weeks of practicing, you’ll be cruising along the superhighway of efficiency.  Happy travels!