MOS Talk: Keyboard shortcuts improve productivity, support ergonomics
Submitted by Brett Fisher on Sat, 04/28/2018 - 8:12pm
During World War II, German intelligence officers learned to spot American spies from cues as simple as their eating habits.
Westerners commonly used the same hand for the fork as they did the knife, putting one down to pick up the other. Nazi agents observed this subtle behavior, often tipping them off to American spies.
Not only did this habit put Americans and their mission in jeopardy, but in its own small way, the table manner was counter-productive to the war effort.
In similar fashion, the computer mouse is used like an utensil at the table. We interrupt our typing to stop, reach for the mouse to move and click it here or there. We then move our hands back over the keyboard, so that we may resume typing until it's time to point and click again. This cyclical process gets repeated over and over.
For those whose job performance is based upon computer productivity — and that's really most of us these days — this is a rather inefficient way to work.
Over an eight-hour period, imagine how much time gets cumulatively lost simply trying to type, point and click at the same time; none of which is reasonably practical to do all at once.
The answer is to learn keyboard shortcuts; key stroke combinations that complete many of the same functions as pointing and clicking with the mouse.
From a function as simple as saving to one as more complex as selecting multiple items on the screen, there are key command shortcuts that can accomplish what you need to get done in a single stroke instead of multiple steps.
The process of transitioning your hand from the typing surface to the mouse, using that device, and finally moving back to the keyboard can prove a laborious task over time.
This widely practiced work habit not only eats up the clock on a time-sensitive project, but in the end, it can cause additional stress to your hands, wrists and fingers.
I'm as guilty as the next person of routinely using the point-and-click work method, and I've developed severe bilateral Carpal Tunnel Syndrome as a result.
The diagnosis has forced me to look for ways that streamline my computer work activities, cutting out unnecessary steps that require my hands to move too frequently.
Utilizing the key command shortcuts can do that for me, because I then complete the action without having to move my hands off the keyboard. I can keep a steady work pace, too. What takes one stroke of the keys can take several steps transitioning from keyboard to mouse and back again.
There's an oft-used business idiom that goes, "work smarter, not harder."
The folks at Microsoft have given us many tools to do just that on our Windows computers. But it's up to us to learn how to use them so that they become a new work habit.
You can find a full list of keyboard shortcuts on both the Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office software support web sites to help you accomplish your work goals.
Keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Office software programs can also be found on the ribbon. Simply hover your mouse over each tool or function. If there's a shortcut, you'll see a message bubble pop up that will tell you what it is.
Of course, not all functions have a keyboard shortcut. But many do.
Read the lists, learn and practice them. Before long, you, too, can be working smarter, not harder. That's good for the bottom line and your well-being.
Brett Fisher is a certified Microsoft Office Specialist instructor and news writer residing in Carson City.
