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🚨We’re trying something a little different this week! Please give us some feedback once you’ve read the newsletter so we can continually make it more useful for you.
Hey, reader! It’s Jack here from On The Pulse.
How are you doing?
As you know, we’re all about improving our efficiency and productivity. This week, I’ve got a really simple change you can make that can save you literally an hour per week…
✨ using keyboard shortcuts ✨
Research shows that you can save yourself 2 seconds every minute you’re working with simple shortcuts like CTRL + C and CTRL + V to copy & paste information. So, you could be wasting an hour per week when you could be completing more tasks (or watching an episode of your favourite TV show 😂)
Shortcuts can help you to quickly:
Switch between applications
Copy information between applications
Navigate a browser
Close applications
So in this edition of On The Pulse, we’re looking at the shortcuts that could save you the most time. And don’t be fazed — these shortcuts are easy to remember and use.
Table of Contents
Let’s Go!👇👇👇
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✨ THE BEST (AND EASIEST) KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
✨ MY FAVOURITE SHORTCUTS
As the Service Desk Manager at an IT company, I’m regularly advising our clients on how they can save time with a few quick shortcuts (while using them myself!)
We also train all our new starters to use shortcuts as a priority — as the data shows, utilising shortcuts can save us a ton of time, which is especially important for our busy service desk team.
But ultimately, anyone can use these shortcuts to save time. Here are some of my must-know favourites. We’ll start with Windows, but I’ve included Mac shortcuts just below.
Table of Contents
✨ MUST-KNOW SHORTCUTS (FOR WINDOWS)
Here are the best Windows shortcuts you need to know.
Shortcut | Use Case |
|---|---|
CTRL + C | To copy selected text or items. For text, simply highlight it using your cursor then hit the shortcut. |
CTRL + V | To paste selected text or items. Click where you want to paste the text, then use the shortcut. |
CTRL + X | To cut selected text or items. Similar to copying, but removes (cuts) the text or item in the original location and pastes into the new location. |
CTRL + Z | To undo the last action. There’s nothing worse than accidentally deleting some text or item. CTRL + Z can be used to undo the last action, like text you’ve accidentally pasted over. |
ALT + TAB | To switch between open applications. This is so handy when used in combination with other shortcuts like copy and paste. It saves you from having to touch your mouse at all to change the app open on your display. |
WINDOWS + D | To show (or hide) the desktop. There’s no need to minimise all your applications — press this shortcut to instantly show your desktop. |
WINDOWS + L | To lock your screen. We always recommend people lock their device if they get up from their desk — it’s much easier with this shortcut! |
CTRL + SHIFT + ALT + WINDOWS + L | To open LinkedIn (really, I’m not joking!) Perfect for that hour you’ve saved using the other shortcuts! 😂 |
✨ MUST-KNOW SHORTCUTS (FOR MAC)
Here are the best Mac shortcuts you need to know.
Shortcut | Use Case |
|---|---|
Command + C | To copy selected text or items. For text, simply highlight it using your cursor then hit the shortcut. |
Command + V | To paste selected text or items. Click where you want to paste the text, then use the shortcut. |
Command + X | To cut selected text or items. Similar to copying, but removes (cuts) the text or item in the original location and pastes into the new location. |
Command + Z | To undo the last action. There’s nothing worse than accidentally deleting some text or item. Command + Z can be used to undo the last action, like text you’ve accidentally pasted over. |
Command + Tab | To switch between open applications. This is so handy when used in combination with other shortcuts like copy and paste. While holding CMD + TAB, use left + right arrows to change direction. |
Command + Shift + [ OR ] | To switch between tabs on a browser. Use “[“ to switch to tabs on the left of the active tab, “]” to switch to tabs on the right of the active tab. |
Command + H | To minimise/hide the currently-open application. Note that this only works for applications that aren’t full screen. |
Command + W | To close the currently-open application or tab. Rather than minimising, this actually closes the app. Use in a browser to close the active tab. |
Command + Spacebar | To open Spotlight search. Spotlight search is extremely handy — use it to quickly open applications, files and folders, or search the web. |
✅ WRAPPING UP!
That’s all for this edition of On The Pulse.
Thanks for reading and see you soon! 👋