Years ago I had an employee who’s name was Amy. Amy was great, but I knew Amy could be even better if I could challenge her to be more efficient. I encouraged her to learn a few keyboard shortcuts and begin regularly using them, which she did. From time to time as I would walk by her desk, I noticed she had slipped back into her well-meaning but misguided use of the mouse. So I would gently remind her that the mouse was not her friend and I would encourage her to kick the habit. After a while she got so good at it that she could actually finish her work before she started. 
Many years later, after Amy left my employ, my wife saw her and asked her about her new job. She told Lorri how much she enjoyed her new position (probably just the freedom of being away from me) and laughed at how her co-workers in the new office admired her speed and productivity on the computer. While she didn’t want to admit it, (and actually told Lorri not to tell me), learning all those keyboard shortcuts made her more productive and efficient.
If you know me at all or if you’ve every worked with me you know I’m all about organization, productivity and efficiency. So here are 4 simple ways I’ve found to increase your computer productivity.
- Commit to learning and using 2 new keyboard shortcuts a week. I would suggest you start with “The BIG 5″, Open, Save, Print, Copy and Paste.
- Keep a running list of those shortcuts on your monitor for quick and easy access. You can make a simple 2 column spreadsheet or if you must, even a Post-it Note.
- Use a program like TextExpander for the Mac, (my favorite) or FastFox Typing Expander for Windows. These allow you to type your name, email, address or anything else with just a single keyboard shortcut and the fun part? Text Expander actually tells you how much time you’ve saved by using those shortcuts. (I’ve saved more than 11 hrs!)
- Finally, just do it. Don’t over-analyze, don’t make it difficult. Just start the process.
I promise that if you start using keyboard shortcuts, you’ll not only save yourself a lot of time, you may find that your co-workers admire your speed and productivity–just like Amy.
