10 Keyboard Shortcuts I Bet You Never Knew

If you’re not sure why we’re talking about keyboard shortcuts in a blog about Productivity and Burnout, check out my previous blog. I’m nerdy about shortcuts because they’ve saved me so much time in day-to-day life as well as work. Most of us use our PCs all day every day and if you’re a Consultant you probably spend most of that time in the company of Excel and PPT. Yet most people never invest time in getting to know the best way round these tools. Fortunately, I’m sharing my top ten keyboard shortcuts so you can be Today Years Old when you learnt them too:

(N.B. these are only for Windows, you can see Mac ones here)

1.       Windows + E -> open file explorer

2.       Ctrl + T -> open new tab in Chrome or IE

3.       Shift + F10 -> substitute for right click

4.       Ctrl, Shift + L -> turn filters on and off in Excel

5.       Ctrl, Alt + M (Word or PPT), Ctrl, shift + F2 (Excel) -> add comment

6.       Ctrl + K -> add hyperlink to a word. You don’t even need to select the word, just hover your cursor over it

7.       Ctrl + Backspace -> delete whole word

8.       Ctrl + R -> reply to email ( Ctrl, Shift + R -> reply all)

9.       Ctrl + W -> close programmes or tabs

10.   Windows + X, then U -> shut down PC

Bonus:

Alt + = -> adds SUM formula to cell in Excel

This is just a sample but there’s loads more. I enjoyed Nerd First’s video and you can too by clicking here. They take a bit of practice but save you loads of time once you’re used to it. If you’re struggling to remember them you can also buy mugs so you’ll never forget them again. Put the mouse in the trap and start using the keyboard.