Did you know that there are some combinations of keystrokes you can use on your keyboard that are like secret code for your computer? Known as keyboard shortcuts, they can save you loads of time while making you feel very professional!
Instead of having to move the cursor to a specific place, opening a menu and clicking your otion, the keyboard shortcuts immediately deliver the action you are after.
There are a huge number of keyboard shortcuts but for this introduction I want to share with you the 5 that I use most frequently to get you started. Come back once you’ve mastered them and I’ll be sharing a few more in a couple of weeks time.
Undo
I’m going to start with my most frequently used, the magic undo! This works in most programmes and usually undoes the last thing you did. I say usually because occasionally there are some things that can’t be undone (like saving a document) but most of the time it does the trick.
To get this to work you need to press 2 keys down at the same time, I press and hold the first then click the second like I’m typing that letter.
So for UNDO you simply press the control (Ctrl) key and the letter z at the same time if you are on a PC or the Command (⌘) and z key on a Mac.
Have a go yourself – open a new email or document and type a sentence. Then use the magic key combo and see what happens. You can also use this when you accidentally delete a whole paragraph, just Ctrl / ⌘ + Z and it will return to your screen. Like Magic.
Redo
The cousin of Undo, redo is your friend if you get carried away undoing and want to change your mind.
To redo you need the Control (Ctrl) key + Y on a PC or the Command (⌘) and Y key on a Mac.
Third, Fourth and Fifth on the list are the relations Cut, Copy and Paste. These will save lots of time while writing and editing documents.
Cut
You can cut and paste several ways but by far the fastest is to select the words you want to get rid of and then use Control (Ctrl) + x (PC) or Command (⌘) + x (on a Mac). The word will disappear!
Copy
If you want to copy you highlight the word and Ctrl /⌘ + C. To paste it hop on to the next tip.
Paste
To Paste you need Ctrl /⌘ + V. You can paste between programmes e.g. copying a phone number from a website into an email.
Getting into the habit of using the keyboard can take a bit of mental effort but I promise it’s worth it! If you like these tips then sign up below for my flock and you’ll be the first to hear when I share new ones.
