Ever feel like you’re wasting precious minutes navigating through menus and clicking multiple times for simple tasks? These lesser-known keyboard shortcuts might just change your daily workflow forever.
1. Windows Key + V: Access Your Clipboard History
Forget about copying and pasting one item at a time. Windows maintains a history of everything you’ve copied, and you can access it all with this simple shortcut. Press Windows Key + V to open your clipboard history, then click any previously copied item to paste it. This is particularly useful when you’re:
- Copying multiple sections from different documents
- Moving several pieces of text between applications
- Retrieving something you copied earlier but forgot to paste
Pro Tip: Pin frequently used items to keep them permanently in your clipboard history.
2. Ctrl + Shift + T: Resurrect Closed Browser Tabs
We’ve all been there – accidentally closing an important browser tab or window. Instead of digging through your history, just press Ctrl + Shift + T to reopen your most recently closed tab. The best part? You can press it multiple times to keep reopening previously closed tabs in chronological order. This works in:
- Google Chrome
- Mozilla Firefox
- Microsoft Edge
- Most other modern browsers
3. Alt + Tab + Shift: Navigate Backward Through Open Windows
While most people know Alt + Tab to switch between windows, adding Shift to the mix lets you move backward through your open applications. This is incredibly useful when you:
- Overshoot your target window
- Need to quickly toggle between three or more applications
- Want to move backward without cycling through all open windows
Bonus Tip: Hold Alt and keep tapping Tab to see all your open windows in a grid view, then use arrow keys for precise navigation.
By mastering these three shortcuts, you could save several minutes each day – that’s hours over a year! Start incorporating them into your workflow, and you’ll wonder how you ever worked without them.