Did you know you could be wasting 8 days per year by not using keyboard shortcuts? The average office person spends at least eight hours at the office. This is often eight hours in front of a computer – clicking, typing and some more clicking. But, have you ever stopped to think, how much time is wasted when you click rather than using a keyboard shortcut? Brainscape have devised a sum to calculate the exact answer to this question. Two wasted seconds per minute (this is the time estimated to find your mouse and click) x 240 workdays per year = 64 wasted hours or 8 days per year! That equals to about 3.3% of your total productivity per year. Other than saving time, the other benefit of using keyboard shortcuts is that you can potentially lower your risk of a repetitive strain injury or RSI by using these handy shortcuts. Repetitive strain injuries include injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome, trigger finger and golfers/tennis elbow. Below is a table of some handy shortcuts to help you stop clicking and start typing. And hopefully this has the added bonus of improving your productivity. (Just make sure you are looking at the correct table according to the operating system you are currently using). Windows:
Apple MAC:
| Function: | Shortcut: |
| Copy selected item | Ctrl + C |
| Paste selected item | Ctrl + V |
| Refresh the active window | F5 |
| Lock your computer | Windows logo key + L |
| Search for a file or folder in File Explorer | F3 |
| Go back | Alt + left arrow |
| Go forward | Alt + right arrow |
| Select all items in a document or window | Ctrl +A |
| Switch between open apps | Alt + tab |
| Undo an action | Ctrl + Z |
| Function: | Shortcut: |
| Cut the selected item and copy it to the clip board | Command + X |
| Copy the selected item to the clip board | Command + C |
| Paste the item in the clipboard | Command + V |
| Refresh the current page | Command + R |
| Lock your computer | Control + Shift + Power |
| Search for anything (files, settings, Google, dictionary, applications | Command + space bar |
| Restart you Mac without confirmation dialog (dependent on the type of MAC you have) | Command + Control + power |
| Take a screen clipping | Shift + Command + 4 |
| Take a screenshot | Shift + Command + 3 |
| Quit an application | Command + Q |
