Skip to content

keyboard navigation

concept · in 13 sources (2018–2020)

Using the keyboard and a launcher instead of the mouse to open apps, files and searches, to cut the time between wanting something done and it being done.

Sources by year: 2018: 2 · 2019: 5 · 2020: 6

Also known as: keyboard shortcuts

Questions

Often together

What comes up in the same parts of the videos; the number is how many parts.

Alfred (8) · Microsoft Windows (4) · Safari (3) · MacBook (7) · Microsoft PowerPoint (2) · iPad (6) · Google Drive (2) · iPad Pro (5) · Magic Keyboard (2) · Molly Hunt (2)

What the videos say

The most important statements of each year; all statements.

2020

  • 2020-04-17 · Answering your Questions — recommendation: Ali's biggest micro-efficiency is avoiding the mouse and navigating with keyboard shortcuts; on a Mac the app Alfred makes it easy, there are Windows alternatives, and the seconds saved add up to hours. — 00:09:20
  • 2020-04-20 · HEAD TO HEAD - iPad Pro vs MacBook Air (2020) — recommendation: Ali: For people with very basic computing needs, like his housemate Molly Hunt, who watches Netflix and only occasionally types a Word document or makes a PowerPoint, Ali says the laptop's efficiency saving does not matter: get an iPad. — 00:00:58
  • 2020-04-29 · Productivity, Books and Careers Advice - Ali Abdaal x Noah Kagan // Deep Dive — Ali's productivity rests on optimising every interaction with a computer: a fast typing speed, keyboard shortcuts and tools like Alfred. — 01:11:40
    • Noah Kagan: Noah recommends learning the Gmail keyboard shortcuts, listed by pressing shift and question mark, to save hours of your life. — 01:24:31
    • Ali recently started using Things 3 for his to-dos; whenever he is tempted to use the mouse he looks up the keyboard shortcut and commits it to memory. — 01:25:00
  • 2020-05-05 · My Favourite Mac Apps · What's on my MacBook Pro? — Ali does not waste time moving the mouse and clicking, which he calls a total waste of time: he uses Alfred to find files, open apps and search Google. — 00:00:58
    • A big part of productivity on a computer, Ali says, is minimising the time between thinking you want to do something and it being done. — 00:02:30
  • 2020-08-18 · How I Type REALLY Fast (156 Words per Minute) — recommendation: Ali: To fix a typo Ali uses Option and Backspace on a Mac, or Control and Backspace on Windows, to delete a whole word instead of pressing Backspace repeatedly. — 00:03:38
    • To improve typing speed and productivity at a computer, Ali advises moving away from the mouse to using the keyboard for absolutely everything. — 00:07:38
    • Whenever Ali finds himself using the mouse in an app, he googles its keyboard shortcuts; switching to a keyboard-first mentality around 2012 or 2013 helped improve his typing speed. — 00:09:26
  • …and 2 statements more in 2020 — all statements of 2020

2019

  • 2019-05-18 · The Best Productivity Apps for Students — Ali says Anki and Quizlet do pretty much the same thing: Anki is better for entering cards fast with typing and keyboard shortcuts, Quizlet has the nicer interface. — 00:00:29
  • 2019-06-05 · Top 5 Highlights from Apple's WWDC 2019 Keynote — Ali: The iPadOS features Ali is most excited about: split screen, external drives (which make the iPad Pro legitimate for photo and video editing), an easier way to move the cursor, many more keyboard shortcuts and desktop-class Safari. — 00:00:55
  • 2019-06-05 · My 7 Favourite iPad OS Features - Apple WWDC 2019 — Ali: Keyboard shortcuts are one of the main parts of Ali's personal productivity system: productivity, he says, is partly the right mindsets and principles, but also the right tactics to do things efficiently and save time. — 00:02:13
    • Ali says iPadOS will introduce more keyboard shortcuts in autumn 2019. — 00:02:13
    • Ali is a big fan of keyboard shortcuts and thinks more people should use them more often. — 00:02:42
    • Ali hopes the new keyboard shortcuts in iPadOS will bring the iPad closer to a MacBook Pro in efficiency of action and economy of motion. (hedged) — 00:02:42
  • 2019-07-26 · How I Manage my Time as a Doctor + YouTuber - 9 Time Management Tips — recommendation: Ali: Navigating your computer with the mouse wastes a lot of time, Ali says: use Alfred, Spotlight Search or the Windows key and type, since keyboard shortcuts are much quicker. — 00:08:54
  • 2019-10-14 · Do students need an iPad or a MacBook? — Ali uses keyboard shortcuts for everything, Alfred, automations, workflows and text expanders to save seconds on each interaction, so he cannot really replace his laptop with an iPad. — 00:02:05

2018

  • 2018-03-07 · Monthly Favourites #2 - Ali Abdaal — Ali's rule is to use the mouse or trackpad as little and the keyboard as much as possible: Command-Space and a typed name open an app, a search or a file. — 00:06:07
    • Ali picked up keyboard navigation from a programmer he follows and took a few months to switch; it really increased his productivity on the computer. — 00:07:05
    • Ali argues that since most university work, schoolwork and other work is done on a computer, working faster there raises overall efficiency and frees time for more interesting things. — 00:07:34
  • 2018-10-10 · iPad vs Macbook for Students - Can a tablet replace your laptop? — Ali: For general efficiency the iPad is not a very efficient device, Ali says: its touch navigation is cool but objectively slower than navigating with a keyboard on a MacBook. — 00:02:47
    • Opening a web address on an iPad takes a swipe up to the dock, a tap on Safari, a tap on the address bar and typing; on a MacBook used with Spotlight, Alfred and keyboard navigation, Ali says, almost anything is a little faster. — 00:03:16
  • …and 1 statement more in 2018 — all statements of 2018