5 IT Shortcuts to Boost Your Productivity

In today’s tech world, productivity is the name of the game. If you’re a professional, there’s always a chance you could get more things done in a shorter amount of time and hit KPIs faster. In this article, we list down 5 IT shortcuts that’ll boost your productivity. Let’s go!

Keyboard shortcuts:

With keyboard shortcuts, you can perform tasks without taking your hands off the keyboard. Here are some common keyboard shortcuts that can help boost your productivity:

1. Copy and Paste: Ctrl + C (or Command + C on a Mac) and Ctrl + V (or Command + V on a Mac)
2. Undo and Redo: Ctrl + Z (or Command + Z on a Mac) and Ctrl + Y (or Command + Z on a Mac)
3. Switching between open windows: Alt + Tab (Windows) or Command + Tab (Mac)
4. Closing windows and tabs: Ctrl + W (or Command + W on a Mac)
5. Saving documents: Ctrl + S (or Command + S on a Mac)
6. Opening new tabs and windows: Ctrl + T (or Command + T on a Mac) and Ctrl + N (or Command + N on a Mac)
7. Zooming in and out: Ctrl + Plus sign (+) (or Command + Plus sign on a Mac) and Ctrl + Minus sign (-) (or Command + Minus sign on a Mac)
8. Refreshing a page: Ctrl + R (or Command + R on a Mac)
9. Selecting all text: Ctrl + A (or Command + A on a Mac)
10. Search for a word or phrase: Ctrl + F (or Command + F on a Mac)

Browser shortcuts: 

Most of our work happens in a browser so it’s good to know some browser shortcuts to help you breeze through your tasks: 

Navigation:

• Go to the next page: Spacebar or Page Down (Option + Down arrow for Mac)
• Go to the previous page: Shift + Spacebar or Page Up (Option + Up arrow for Mac)
• Go to the top of the page: Home (Command + Up arrow for Mac)
• Go to the bottom of the page: End
• Go to the address bar: Ctrl + L (or Command + L on a Mac)

Tabs: 

• Switch to the next tab: Ctrl + Tab (or Command + Tab on a Mac) 
• Switch to the previous tab: Ctrl + Shift + Tab (or Command + Shift + Tab on a Mac)

Bookmarks:

• Open the bookmarks bar: Ctrl + Shift + B (or Command + Shift + B on a Mac)
• Add the current page to bookmarks: Ctrl + D (or Command + D on a Mac)

Software-specific shortcuts: 

At work, we use some apps more than others. Google Chrome, Microsoft Word, and Adobe Photoshop are all near universal apps and it’s good to learn some specific shortcuts:

Google Chrome: 

• Open the Chrome menu: Alt + F or Alt + E (Shift + Command + M for Mac)
• Open the Developer Tools: Ctrl + Shift + I (Option + Command + I for Mac)
• Open the History page: Ctrl + H (Command + Y for Mac)

Microsoft Word:

• Insert a hyperlink: Ctrl + K (Command + K for Mac)
• Insert a comment: Ctrl + Alt + M ( Shift + Command + A for Mac)
• Change the font size: Ctrl + Shift + P (Control + Command + P for Mac)

Microsoft Excel:

• Edit the active cell: F2 
• Insert a new line within a cell: Alt + Enter (Option + Enter for Mac)
• Show/hide gridlines: Ctrl + Shift + G (Command + Option + G for Mac)

Adobe Photoshop:

• Create a new layer: Ctrl + Shift + N (Command + Shift + N for Mac)
• Transform: Ctrl + T (Command + T for Mac)
• Select brush tool: Press the B key

System shortcuts: 

While you’re supercharging your productivity at the office, here are some system shortcuts to help you get the most out of your operating system:

• Open the Task Manager: Ctrl + Shift + Esc
• Open the Control Panel: Windows key + X, then click on Control Panel

• Take a screenshot of the entire screen in Mac: Command + Shift + 3
• Take a screenshot of a selected area in Mac: Command + Shift + 4, then drag the cursor over the area

Custom shortcuts:

But productivity doesn’t end with these shortcuts! You can create custom shortcuts that fit into your workflow and help you every day. 

In Windows, you need to follow these steps:

• Right-click on the application or file you want to create a shortcut for and select “Create shortcut.”
• Right-click on the newly created shortcut and select “Properties.”
• In the “Properties” window, click on the “Shortcut key” field and press the keys you want to use as the shortcut. 
• Click “Apply” and then “OK” to save the changes

For macOS, you need to do this:

• Open “System Preferences” and click on “Keyboard.”
• Click on the “Keyboard Shortcuts” tab, then select “App Shortcuts” from the left sidebar.
• Click on the “+” button to create a new shortcut.
• In the “Application” field, select the application you want to create the shortcut for.
• In the “Menu Title” field, type the name of the menu item you want to create a shortcut for.
• Click on the “Keyboard Shortcut” field and press the keys you want to use as the shortcut.
• Click “Add” to save the new shortcut.

These are some ways you can improve daily productivity at work. For more IT or office security-related help, don’t forget to get in touch with MyTek!