Learn a new keyboard shortcut every day

by Brad Linder Feb 24th 2007

Stephen Mack is director of TiVoCast operations for, you guessed it TiVo. He's also a keyboard shortcut guru. As he points out, the less often you have to reach for the mouse, the less strain you put on the wrist, and the quicker you can get your work done at your computer.

After getting a few requests for keyboard shortcut tips from his coworkers, Mack went and set up a new blog. Sure, there are plenty of places on the web where you can find lists of keyboard shortcuts. But it's nice to just find one new shortcut a day to focus on. It's sort of like flipping through a word a day calendar. You don't become a wizard overnight, but by the end of the year, you've expanded your vocabulary.

There's just a few tips up right now, and they might seem pretty obvious (hit the Windows key to bring up the start menu), but there's a few hidden gems in there. For example, I didn't know you could also bring up the start menu by clicking Ctrl+Esc if your keyboard doesn't have a Windows button.

Mack's list appears to be Windows only, but there are plenty of resources out there for Mac and Linux users.

Tags: keyboard, keyboard shortcuts, KeyboardShortcuts, windows key, WindowsKey

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Atanas Boev said 10:20AM on 2-25-2007

...and shift-f10 if you dont have the "menu" key :)

Michael said 1:15PM on 2-25-2007

Don't most people surf the 'net with one hand on the keyboard and one hand on the mouse? If I look to the right of this comment box, there's hundreds of links that I have to click. Let's face it, the interwebs is not becoming any more keyboard friendly.

There are applications where keyboards are more important though: Office/Word and other text editing programs. But even other creative applications are very mouse-centric. Stop fighting reality and give it up. I'm sick of all these shortcut lists, keyboard launchers, etc. being blogged and everyone jumping for joy. Keep your hands on the mouse and keep your mouth shut.

Stephen Mack said 2:13PM on 2-27-2007

Thanks for the write-up!

And Atanas, right you are -- that one's slated for early March. :)

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