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Keyboard Shortcuts - Praise Be

I am a massive fan of keyboard shortcuts, and I think they’re a massive benefit for both productivity and ergonomics. However, this idea falls flat for a lot of people, particularly since we’re in the age of the GUI. For most people, there are precious few reasons to learn and understand keyboard shortcuts when they can do all the same things by clicking an icon on a menu bar. Moving a mouse a clicking a button is much easier than remembering which specific keyboard incantation to press to make something work. However, I’m here to make a case. Current software development practices (at the time of writing) have led us to increasingly simplified icons with reduced legibility. In my opinion, it can really pay off to learn a few essential keyboard shortcuts to make your life easier.

This epiphany came while I was writing emails, of all things. Microsoft recently debuted their “New Outlook™”, which, in my opinion, is aesthetically better but functionally worse. It’s essentially their Outlook web app encased in a WebView2 runtime to give it desktop functionality. This means that it doesn’t work without an internet connection, and doesn’t support .ics files. It’s also missing a lot of functionality compared to the old desktop outlook version. Not to mention, the design and layout is different. Not radically different, but different enough that it’s befuddling when you first make the switch. However, they did one thing right: the keyboard shortcuts are all still intact.

This means that by simply knowing some simple key combinations, you can bypass all the inconveniences of the new design language and simply enjoy its aesthetics, all while continuing to use the functionality you’re familiar with. For example, I was able to create, format, and send an email — something I do a lot — without ever touching the mouse. The whole interaction went like this:

  1. CTRL + N to create a new email
  2. Type in the recipient, using TAB and ENTER to select the correct address
  3. TAB to the subject line and type the subject
  4. TAB to the email field and begin writing the email
    • CTRL + B/I/U for bold/italics/underline
    • CTRL + K for hyperlinks
  5. Once the email was drafted,CTRL + ENTER to send

This, for me, was much faster than reaching for the mouse, clicking on icons, and highlighting and applying formatting by hand. Granted, it takes practice to memorise these things, but it’s worth it for me. It makes the whole process of interacting with any computer feel more universal and more simple. I don’t feel bogged down by strange or unfamiliar UI or get stuck interpreting minimalist icons — I simply press the keys that I need, and get the job done twice as fast.

I also really appreciate apps that allow you to assign keyboard shortcuts to specific features. Two apps that I use often — Obsidian and Todoist — allow you to assign or modify their built-in keyboard shortcuts so they don’t clash with system shortcuts, or even just so you can create shortcuts that make more sense for you. I really appreciate this, as I often have keybinds memorised for existing apps, so creating new ones just allows me to add new functionality to my existing workflow rather than modify it. If many apps have a similar function, I usually assign the same keybind to all of them for that one action so I don’t lose my way when switching between them.

I understand that this is an archaic way of thinking, especially in the age of the GUI. Realistically, I know that no-one really needs to know or use keyboard shortcuts for anything, especially since it’s more simple by orders of magnitude to click on a button. It’s a paradigm that makes sense for so many people, and it’s one of the main reasons computers became much more popular. Clicking icons is simply more accessible. I know all of this, and yet here I am trying to convince you to tap at your keyboard. Why?

Why?? Because it’s just better, that’s why. Look, I’m really not trying to be pushy about this, but it just is. It’s the whole reason I draft my blog posts in Markdown, the whole reason I use the terminal to update, install, and remove applications, and the whole reason why I write to begin with: keyboard shortcuts have intention.

I’ve accidentally clicked on the wrong icon or pressed the wrong button countless times, or in some cases, thanks to overly flat and minimalist UI (urgh), I attempted to click a button when there wasn’t a button at all. Keyboard shortcuts circumvent this entirely. By either looking at the keyboard while you type, or by typing with muscle memory and looking at the screen, you get both tactile and visual feedback from your actions. For example, when italicising text, you feel your fingers press the shortcut CTRL + I and, at the same time, you see your cursor change from vertical to slanted. This feedback is good. It’s built-in confirmation that you initiated the right action.

In many cases, keyboard shortcuts are often just faster. If you’re someone who types a lot, it’s faster for you to work if your fingers never have to leave the keyboard. You have the option to move the cursor backward and forward through the text – or highlight it – with two- or three-key combinations, which is much faster the clicking and dragging the mouse over specific portions of text.

In Markdown, specific text formatting options have their built-in functions. *[text]* will italicise anything, and **[text]** formats as bold. ~~[text]~~ will strikethrough text, and #, ##, or ### result in different heading levels. All this is possible with only the keyboard, and by never moving my hand off the keyboard to create this formatting, my flow of ideas and thoughts remains uninterrupted.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get a little strange about computers. For me, keyboard shortcuts also make me feel like I’m collaborating with the computer more than anything else. When I use the keyboard to interact with all the functions of my operating system or my programs, I feel like the computer is an extension of my brain and body, and that means I get more high-quality work done on the computer. When I use the mouse and just click at things, I just feel like I’m pointing at tasks for the computer to do and saying “Just sort that out for me, will you.” It doesn’t feel collaborative or engaging, and it certainly doesn’t lead to me producing my best work.

I’m not saying everyone should use keyboard shortcuts. From some people, that idea won’t stick well, and they’ll have a harder time using the computer than if they just used the mouse and clicked on icons. But I really want you to give it a try. If you’re reading this blog, then you’re probably familiar enough with computers that keyboard shortcuts will meaningfully improve how you work and interact with computers as a whole.

Give it a shot. Do some research about what shortcuts are available to you in your application of choice, and start using a few of them for the tasks you do most often. And please, above anything, have empathy for the machine. It’s doing its best.