Nowadays, most of us rely on the use of a computer at our jobs to increase productivity and efficiency. At the same time however, the computer can sometimes slow us down, especially if we get caught up in doing things a certain way on the computer that end up costing us a ton of time overall.
Below are some different things you can try that will save you time when using your computer. It might feel uncomfortable to change your way of doing things at first, but soon it will become second nature and you’ll wonder how you ever worked without these shortcuts!
1. Use Keyboard Shortcuts
Using Ctrl-C to copy, Ctrl-V to paste, Ctrl-Z to undo and Ctrl-Y to redo are now pretty universal shortcuts that can be used in most programs and on Windows and Mac (for Mac just use the CMD key instead of Ctrl). In Windows, you can also press the Windows key and press L to lock your machine.
2. Navigate Between Open Windows Quickly
Use Alt-Tab (or usually Option-Tab on Macs) to bring up an overlay in the center of the screen showing all of your open windows. Keep holding Alt (or Option on Mac) and press Tab to toggle between applications.
3. Create Desktop Shortcuts
You can save a lot of time navigating to the programs and folders you use the most by setting up desktop shortcuts. In Windows, you would simply right-click the item and choose Send To, and then “Desktop (Create Shortcut).”
4. Use App Tabs in Firefox
For websites that you visit often, Firefox allows you to create App Tabs to permanently keep them open. Click on the desired tab and choose “Pin as app tab” – it will move to the far left and it won’t take up as much space.
5. A Productivity Tool For Your Browser
There is a free Timer Tab app you can use by opening a new tab in your browser and navigating to timer-tab.com. This site will allow you to set a custom alarm or timer to keep you on track while you work. Set the timer for a half hour and focus on work for the full time period, then take five minutes to break and clear your head.
6. Use the Best Web Browser
Google Chrome and Mozille Firefox are still leading the pack. If you often find your browser is slow to load your favorite sites, try downloading and installing an alternative browser. Some sites are still optimized for certain browsers, and it doesn’t hurt to install more than one on your computer.
7. Multi-Select with Shift
This is something you can do now in most programs and operating systems. If you want to select multiple items in a row to edit, copy, move, or whatever – just click the first, hold the Shift key, then click the last, and there you have it. All the items in between the first and last will be selected as well.
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