Most of us spend a huge amount of time in front of the computer. Why not become more productive by saving yourself time maneuvering? Several of my clients were blown away by the following little-known shortcuts:

Switch from one open application on your computer to another

Windows users:

  • Hold down the Alt key, and click the Tab key at the same time.
  • You’ll see all of your open applications pictured, and you can hit Tab (while continuing to hold down Alt) until you get to the one you need.
  • Use Shift + Tab (while continuing to hold down Alt) to move backwards.
  • Another alternative is to use the arrow keys (while holding down Alt) after you initially use the Alt + Tab combination.

App switcher cropped

Mac users:

  • Hold down the Command key, and click the Tab key at the same time.
  • You’ll see all of your open windows pictured, and you can hit Tab (while continuing to hold down Command) until you get to the one you need.
  • Use Shift + Tab (while continuing to hold down Command) to move backwards.
  • Another alternative is to use the arrow keys instead of the Tab key.

Switch from one internet browser tab to another

Windows users:

  • Hold down the Ctrl key, and click the Tab key at the same time.
  • Use Shift + Tab (while continuing to hold down Ctrl) to move backwards.

Mac users:

  • Hold down the Command key, and click the Tilde (~) key at the same time.
  • Use Shift + Tilde (~) (while continuing to hold down Command) to move backwards.

Perform common tasks with keyboard combinations

Windows users:

  • Common shortcuts include:
    • Ctrl + X to cut the selected item
    • Ctrl + C to copy the selected item
    • Ctrl + V to paste the selected item
    • Ctrl + P to open the print window
    • Ctrl + Z to undo an action
    • Ctrl + A to select all items in a document or window
    • Ctrl + Esc to open Start
  • Here is a list of all of the Windows keyboard shortcuts

Mac users:

  • Common shortcuts include:
    • Command + X to cut the selected item
    • Command + C to copy the selected item
    • Command + V to paste the selected item
    • Command + P to open the print window
    • Command + Z to undo an action
    • Command + A to select all items in a document or window
    • Command + S to save the current document
  • Here is a list of all of the Mac keyboard shortcuts

It takes some time to get used to these shortcuts, but once you do, they have the potential to save you a lot of time every day!

Do you learn better with video? Check out my videos on these topics by clicking below.