In today’s world, where everything is so fast, people want to spend less time on manual work, so they look for easy ways to complete tasks without wasting any time.
For this reason, people use keyboard shortcuts to execute their tasks quickly and efficiently.
Let’s discuss the advantages of using shortcuts while performing tasks on a PC.
What Is The Advantage Of Using Keyboard Shortcuts?
The main advantage of using keyboard shortcuts is that it allows you to perform daily tasks in less time and boosts productivity.
It is highly beneficial if you use shortcuts to complete your daily tasks as it enables you to perform other tasks by completing the first one quickly.
If you are a daily computer user who wants to improve productivity and efficiency through the use of a few tips, try using shortcut keys.
This also helps reduce your efforts that may be slightly delayed with the use of a mouse.
What Are The Top Advantages Of Using Shortcuts?
There are multiple advantages of using shortcuts on the computer.
They help you save time and increase your productivity levels.
Let’s have a look at the top advantages of using shortcuts on the computer.
1. You Get Efficient Outputs
Using shortcuts, you can copy all the text from a document by simply pressing Ctrl+A, then Ctrl+C, to copy all the text at a glance.
Shortcuts increase your productivity and enable you to accomplish more tasks if you start utilizing them instead of a mouse.
Using keyboard shortcuts maximizes the outputs you can produce in less time.
On the other hand, it takes a lot of time if you use a mouse to select and drag all the way down to select a certain bit of text in a document.
Using keyboard shortcuts helps you get efficient outputs.
2. Enables Multi-Tasking
Multi-tasking is a necessity in this day and age.
Being a multi-tasker helps you to complete your daily work quickly.
Multi-tasking is the ability to check the boxes on our daily to-do list while dealing with numerous tools and tabs at once.
The significant advantage of using shortcuts is that it enables you to perform multitasking.
Using shortcuts in your daily usage enables you to navigate through multitasking activities easily.
Using keyboard shortcuts might sometimes feel difficult.
Once you get used to them, though, you’ll eventually become a ninja at the keyboard.
3. Beneficial Effects On Health
Using keyboard shortcuts is also beneficial for your health.
It reduces the risk of repetitive strain injury (RSI) by cutting down your mouse activities.
If you perform repetitive tasks using a mouse, there are many possibilities that you can develop RSI.
Resting your palm heel on the desk and raising your fingers to click can cause RSI.
If you start to use keyboard shortcuts, you can minimize mouse activities and save hundreds of mouse clicks daily.
It reduces the fatigue in your fingers and wrists.
4. Makes Your Work Precise
Keyboard shortcuts are highly beneficial when you want to complete your work in a precise manner.
It is also advisable in many organizations to perform more tasks via keyboard, rather than a mouse, to get the precise output.
Typing and editing work is more accurate to handle through keyboard shortcuts.
Fast movements of fingers on the keyboard make you look more professional.
Using shortcuts not only makes you precise but also leaves a good impression on other colleagues too.
5. Fast Working
The other main and most significant advantage of using keyboard shortcuts is that you can perform tasks ten times faster than working with the mouse.
It is because you take time to place the cursor on the correct option.
You don’t have to look for specific options when using keyboard shortcuts
This saves you a lot of time.
These are some of the advantages of using keyboard shortcuts.
You can utilize them in your personal and professional life as they are effective for better results and are also time-saving.
What Are The Advantages Of Keyboard Shortcuts In Education?
Apart from saving time, keyboard shortcuts are highly beneficial in education too.
It not only provides technical skills but also helps in learning new skills in a better way.
Let’s have a look at the advantages of keyboard shortcuts in education.
1. Digital Equity
In education, training students with keyboard shortcuts helps in supporting digital equity.
Helping students master this skill is highly beneficial since they will be able to implement them later in their careers.
Most educational institutions have made the learning of keyboard shortcuts skill compulsory.
Utilizing this skill enables the students to learn more and excel in their professional lives.
2. Removes Frustration
One of the benefits of teaching students with keyboard shortcuts is that it removes frustration.
Students get frustrated easily when they cannot find specific options.
For this reason, keyboard shortcuts are highly beneficial as students can just press a couple of keys to proceed with their desired option.
It also saves time in completing complex tasks sometimes.
Students with the skills of using keyboard shortcuts enable them to remove these hurdles and make them effective in learning new skills.
3. Boost Confidence
Teaching students with keyboard shortcuts and skills results in boosting their confidence.
Several assignments require a lot of keyboard usage.
This increases the importance of keyboard shortcuts since they can effectively reduce time.
Keyboard shortcuts skill keep the students engaged in the task and eliminate all their fear of frustration or embarrassment.
Students who master keyboard shortcuts skills can express their ideas and thoughts quickly as compared to the ones using the mouse.
4. Technical Skills
One of the advantages of teaching keyboard skills is to help students with technicalities.
Using keyboard shortcuts and skills has become necessary in educational institutions and professional careers.
You can use these skills to provide email support, graphics, editing, typing, and other necessary tasks.
5. Increases Work Energy
Another significant advantage of using keyboard shortcuts is that it increases work energy and helps free up cognitive energy during complex keyboarding tasks.
Keyboarding skills enable the students to use less energy in finding functions than a cursor.
It helps them concentrate effectively on their tasks.
These are some of the advantages of teaching keyboard shortcuts in educational institutions.
This skill doesn’t only limit them to completing educational tasks, but it also helps them to excel in their professional lives.
Types Of Shortcuts
A computer shortcut is nothing but a combination of keys.
There are different shortcuts for different purposes on the operating system.
Let’s have a look at the types of shortcuts.
1. Windows Basic Shortcuts
These shortcuts refer to the daily activity we perform on the system.
Let’s have a look at some of the basic shortcuts.
A. Alt + Tab
This is one of the common Windows shortcuts that is highly useful when you are running several applications at once.
This shortcut helps you to quickly switch between applications without any interruption.
B. Ctrl + Z
It is an undo shortcut key, which is highly effective if you want to roll back to the last changes or actions.
It is a lifesaver when you mistakenly delete a file or overwrite a paragraph in a Word document, Paint, or in any other application.
C. Ctrl + W
Ctrl + W performs the action of closing down the screen you are viewing.
You don’t have to repetitively click each window to close it.
Simply press Ctrl + W, and save a lot of time. This shortcut is a common practice in closing multiple tabs in a browser.
D. Alt + F4
Combining the Alt key with F4 closes every active app on the system.
It is a fast process of hunting down the applications rather than visiting each to close them.
If you press this shortcut and don’t save your work, the computer will automatically save the details if this shortcut is used.
E. Ctrl + A
This shortcut is very effective when you want to select all the text in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files.
It also enables you to select every file and folder in a drive.
It saves you a lot of time you spend clicking and dragging with the mouse.
These are some of the common and basic Windows shortcuts that are highly beneficial in their respective ways.
2. Windows Navigation Shortcuts
Windows Navigation shortcuts are highly beneficial in performing tasks that increase productivity dramatically.
Let’s have a look at some of the navigation shortcut keys.
A. Win + Left Arrow/Win + Right Arrow
The main advantage of this shortcut is to snap windows on one side of the screen.
Simply hold the Win key and press the left or right arrow key to compare two windows side-by-side.
It is also beneficial in keeping your work organized.
B. Win + Tab
This is also another shortcut used to switch between multiple apps.
However, this shortcut functions by opening the latest Windows application switcher.
It shows program thumbnails to make you switch to the apps easily.
C. Win + D
This shortcut key brings the system’s home screen into view and minimizes all the other windows that are open in the background.
It is highly effective when you have stored rows of folders and file shortcuts on your desktop by enabling access to them in a few seconds.
D. Ctrl + Esc
This shortcut is a perfect solution for you if you have a keyboard that unfortunately doesn’t have a Windows key embedded in it.
You can use the Ctrl + Esc shortcut key to open the Start menu.
You can press this shortcut, navigate the menu with the arrow keys, and select desired options.
E. Tab and Shift + Tab
When you want to navigate between the dialog boxes, you can press Tab to navigate forward and Shift + Tab to navigate to the previous options.
It saves you time you have to spend clicking and looking for cursor placement.
It is highly effective when you want to navigate through a bunch of tabs or options.
The above are some of the Windows navigation shortcuts.
You can use them to save time and increase your work productivity.
3. Windows Advanced Shortcuts
Using Windows advanced shortcuts increases efficiency and enables you to work faster with precision.
Take a brief look at some of the advanced shortcuts.
A. Win + L
When you step away from the screen, just use this shortcut to keep your computer safe.
This shortcut returns you to the login view by locking the system.
B. Win + Ctrl + D
Using this shortcut adds a new virtual desktop screen.
It is highly beneficial as it provides extra workspace to store some of your open windows and applications.
C. Win + I
You can use this shortcut when you feel like configuring Windows.
Using this shortcut opens up the Settings dialog box.
It provides quick access and shows notifications to certain settings.
D. Win + PrtScn
This shortcut is effective when you want to quickly take a screenshot.
Just press the Win + PrtScn combination, and you will have a screenshot in no time. It copies the image to the clipboard and saves a lot of time.
E. Win + X
To access the hidden Quick Link menu on Windows, you must press Win + X.
This shortcut enables you to access the system’s key areas.
Also, you can jump straight to the device manager using these shortcut keys.
F. Ctrl + Shift + Esc
This shortcut is very common when you want to access the Task Manager on your system.
When you feel like your screen is not responding, you can press this combination to access the Task Manager.
It brings up the Task Manager, regardless of your application.
Conclusion
The main advantage of using shortcuts is that it increases your working levels by ten times.
It removes the time you take to drag or place a cursor on the specific options.
This results in decreased time and increased productivity.
It also brings great work efficiency.
It is highly beneficial to get used to shortcuts to complete your daily tasks, whether it is personal or professional.
Using shortcuts makes you focus on your work and allows you to complete it quickly.
Leave a Reply