Time Saving Shortcuts in Microsoft Office

It's well past lunchtime and you still have to update a dozen projects and send innumerable emails. Taking advantage of shortcuts in Microsoft Office can help you meet deadlines while delivering accurate work. Working more efficiently also helps you avoid late nights and clears your desk for more meaningful or enjoyable projects in the future.

Microsoft shortcuts for Word 2010 offer hundreds of ways to reduce work time. Create new documents by hitting "control + n," print pages using "control + p," and navigate quickly through documents by using a variety of arrow keys along with control, page up, page down, home, and end. With so many shortcuts in Microsoft Office's word processing program, it's difficult to memorize them all. Instead, concentrate on core functionality that matches your job. Choose a few functions you use on an hourly basis and look up shortcuts for those items. Once you memorize each set, you can add more.

Shortcuts in Microsoft Office aren't limited to word processing; you can also save time when working in Excel. Excel uses some of the same shortcuts as Word but has additional tricks related to spreadsheet use. You can select an entire row by hitting "shift + space" or select a column by hitting "control + space." If you've ever held the mouse button down while scrolling through miles of data, you will appreciate these two timesavers. You can also find Microsoft shortcuts for formatting cells, columns, and rows; changing number formats; and managing multiple worksheets.

PowerPoint also includes a number of shortcuts, such as F5 to start a slideshow and "control + N" to insert a new slide when creating a presentation. You can replay animations in the slideshow by hitting the page up key, and you can use a variety of common shortcuts in Microsoft Office for managing content through cutting, pasting, and formatting.

With so many available shortcuts in Microsoft Office, you may not discover all the most useful tips on your own. You can reach out to more than 1.5 million clerical professionals to share your own tips for working efficiently in Microsoft Office. If you feel like you've mastered all the most applicable shortcuts, you can employ additional timesaving tips, such as adding a second monitor to your workstation or cleaning up your PC for better operating performance.

Creating a more efficient work process isn't all about saving time. Reducing your dependence on the mouse may also help combat issues with carpal tunnel or arm fatigue. The ability to deliver quality content on time may also help you secure a future promotion or increase the chances that you'll be tapped to work on the next big project. You can start today by using one of the most valuable shortcuts in Microsoft Office to ensure you never lose your work: get used to hitting "control + s" to save your documents on a regular basis.

(photo courtesy of Keerati / freedigitalphotos.net)