Spend a one-time effort learning keyboard shortcuts and automation in the software you use often
- Moderate value
- Evidence B
- Saves time
- Free
- Takes some hours
- Some willpower
In plain words
Most people who have used Word for many years still click toolbar icons. In experiments comparing groups, shortcuts were faster than menus and icons. Learning this is a one-time cost, and every operation you do afterward pays it back each day. The longer you do the same kind of work, the more you earn back.
- Cost
-
Free. It takes a one-time investment of a few hours to a few dozen hours to learn. The hard part is that for a while at the start you are slower than with the mouse.
- What you get
-
A study looked at 251 experienced Word users and found that most rarely used the faster shortcuts and mostly relied on the icon toolbar. A controlled experiment confirmed that of the three ways, menus, icons and shortcuts, shortcuts were the fastest. The time saved builds up little by little with the number of operations per day. People who do the same kind of work over the long term gain the most.
- Notes
-
Learn only the operations you use ten or more times a day. Learning everything is a different kind of waste. To be clear, that efficiency experiment had only 6 participants, and its abstract does not give the seconds saved per operation.
- Evidence grade
- B : Supported by research but without a precise number, or based on small or single studies.
- Sources
-
- Lane, D. M., Napier, H. A., Peres, S. C., & Sándor, A. (2005). Hidden costs of graphical user interfaces: Failure to make the transition from menus and icon toolbars to keyboard shortcuts. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327590ijhc1802_1
Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 4, tip 17. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer