Top 10 Keyboard shortcuts everyone must know

In our previous articles we talked about how to be more productive and efficient using your IT gadgets and equipment. To talk more about efficiency, this week we will show you how to work faster and do more using your keyboard.

Using keyboard shortcuts can greatly increase your productivity and help keep you focused. Instead of shifting your right hand between your keyboard and your mouse to do some basic tasks like copying texts from one document to the other, keeping both your hands on the keyboard and using the equivalent shortcut command eliminates both the time spent positioning your hand and unnecessary wrist movement.

Here are the top 10 keyboard shortcuts we recommend everyone must memorize and use when working on your PC.

Shift + Arrow keys

This shortcut allows you to highlight texts from the current cursor position. Another variation for this shortcut is Shift + Ctrl + Arrow keys which will enable you to highlight whole words or paragraphs. On this note, try pressing the Ctrl + Arrow keys and see what happens.

Ctrl + C or Ctrl + Insert

Copies the highlighted text or selected item.

Ctrl + V or Shift + Insert

Pastes the recent text or object that is in the clipboard.

Ctrl + Z and Ctrl + Y

Undo and Redo changes. You can also press this combination several times to undo or redo multiple changes.

Ctrl + Backspace

Deletes a full word at a time instead of a single character. No need to highlight the word.

Ctrl + F

Opens the Find window in any program to find a specific text on the current page.

Alt + Tab

Quickly switch between open programs. Another variation for this shortcut is Alt + Shift + Tab which has the same effect except that the options move backwards. For Windows Vista and 7 users, you can also use the Windows key + Tab to switch between open programs using full screenshots.

Ctrl + S

While working on a file in almost any application, this shortcut will save that file. You must use this shortcut frequently anytime you are working on anything important.

Ctrl + Home or Ctrl + End

Moves the cursor to the beginning or end of a document.

Ctrl + P

Opens the Print window in almost any application allowing you to print the current file or page being viewed.

We hope this week’s article will help you be more efficient and maximize the use of your keyboard. If you have other insights that you may want to share, feel free to post them.

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3 Tips on How to Use Multiple Computers to Increase Productivity

An average human brain isn’t really wired for multitasking. Nonetheless, there are times where we can benefit more by joggling multiple tasks at once. The question is, is there a way to do it properly?

During our previous article, we made mention that most professionals are no longer contented with owning just 2-3 smart gadgets. Studies show that a great deal of professionals own more than one computer. To some it may seem excessive to own several machines however, if correctly used, it may be worth the extra cash. Here’s a look at how working with more than one computer at a time can make you more productive and efficient.

Offload heavy tasks to a desktop

Most users are now enjoying high-speed multi-core processors in their desktops or laptops. However, this doesn’t guarantee that multiple tasks will be processed quickly since other resources (like RAM) will be shared to all running processes. Most modern applications are also resource-hungry that multitasking them would likely lead to a system hang-up. For those who are still using single core processors, multitasking is even worst.

Since most of us work on our laptops, it is wise to offload all those heavy tasks to a desktop for two reasons: One, desktops are relatively faster, and two, laptops tend to get super hot when doing heavy processing. The only challenge in this setup is that one will be doing a lot of file transfers from one machine to the other. A normal approach will be to use a portable external storage. This drive must be relatively fast and since you will be accessing the drive frequently, you have to be careful. For smaller files, you can use applications like Dropbox or Sugarsync that will allow you to access those files from virtually any computer.

Work on any file from any machine anywhere

In the last section we discussed about the advantages of synching your files. Its primary advantage is being able to work on your files from anywhere (even in internet cafes) without bringing any flash drive. On a private network setup, setting a NAS or a shared file folder would also be wise. The only challenge when working on different machines is to ensure that all machines must have the same software to read your files. Let’s say you’re using Photoshop in your laptop and decided to continue what you’re editing in your desktop, the only way it will work is if you have Photoshop installed in your desktop.

Get rid of those distractions in your primary machine

When you are fixed on finishing most of your tasks in your primary machine, it would be wise if you log out from your email, IM, Facebook, Twitter or other feeds that pushes pop-up notifications. You can set them all up in your tablet or any secondary machine and look at them during free time or when you are stretching your arms. This will allow you to focus on your current task and not be distracted by all those beeps and pop-ups. On the downside, you might think that it can become pretty annoying when dealing with multiple keyboards. These can be answered by using tools like KVM or Synergy which allows you to manipulate multiple machines using a single keyboard and mouse. Call your local technical experts to help you set this up.

We hope these tips will help you be able to maximize your machines and be more productive. If you have other insights that you may want to share, feel free to post them. Together, we can make a better workplace.

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