Many of us spend a big chunk of our day staring at a screen and trying to get it to respond in the quickest way possible so that you can complete one task and move onto the next one.
There are lots of different ways that you can save time and improve the efficiency of your work, especially when it comes to how you use your computer to work with you, rather than seeming like it’s working against you, which sometimes feels the case.
How can you use your computer more efficiently?
There are some technical answers to that question and some more straightforward responses. For instance, making the most of a configuration management database would definitely be considered a smart and savvy technical way to improve overall efficiency when it comes to completing tasks. On the flip side, some simple hacks and changes to your setup can also drive efficiency in the right direction.
Here are some useful and time-saving tips that could make a noticeable difference to your productivity and efficiency levels.
Are you using your mouse too much?
Aside from the physical impact it can have by scrolling around your screen with a mouse for hours on end, it is well worth adopting an alternative approach that is based on the idea that using your mouse is the height of inefficiency.
Not using your mouse could turn out to be a time-saving game-changer and is not as radical or difficult as you might think.
You can complete tasks on your PC without actually moving your fingers away from the keyboard. A good example of this philosophy and approach to completing tasks with maximum efficiency comes from seeing what products such as Emacs offer. This is text editing software that opens up the ability to action any instruction or transactional process using a text editor rather than a mouse.
It might seem like it’s actually more work to begin with, as you have to create and learn new shortcuts that help make your mouse redundant. But once you have everything on your keyboard aligned with your way of working these shortcuts will boost your efficiency levels. This way of working can be so much more efficient and helps you focus more on your task rather than navigational aspects of your input.
Clear the clutter
The next tip is simple but hugely effective. If you want to work efficiently and find things on your screen as quickly as possible you really need to clear the clutter.
This involves creating customizable shortcuts to minimize the amount of apps that are on your screen. It also means making use of great options such as the tiling window manager on your PC to optimize the amount of available space on your screen.
If you want to take this efficiency to the next level, you can also use a windows managing control app that helps you create customizable shortcuts and resizes windows. If you are a MacOS user, the Mission Control function is great, but investing in a managing control app will boost your efficiency levels even more. The same applies if you are a windows user.
Are you taking advantage of hotkeys?
Even though there are some defined shortcuts that you can use to access and switch between apps there are even better ways of finding a specific app straight away.
Again, a small investment in a productivity app that is designed to create a set of hotkeys could make a huge difference to the speed of your access and improve navigation.
Most of us tend to have a shortlist of apps that we use frequently. You can waste a lot of time through the day getting to these apps. A hotkey setup that lets you dive straight into these favorite apps will make a noticeable difference to your efficiency levels.
Learn how to use your keyboard in the best possible way
Having already outlined how easy it is to move away from using a mouse in order to improve your efficiency it makes sense to learn how to optimize its configuration in your operating system.
If you are a MacOS user, for example, you can configure the system preferences and keyboard panel to suit your needs. If you are more tech savvy, you can also use faster values that the ones provide as the default option.
It also makes sense to familiarize yourself with some of the most common keyboard shortcuts. This is a good starting point and it often leads you on to discovering even more new shortcuts that you find useful.
Once you have embraced this way of thinking and working you will become more keyboard-centric and find that your mouse quickly becomes redundant.
The best approach to problem-solving tasks
Having mastered new and efficient ways to navigate around your keyboard there is also a more technical aspect of working harder with less effort to consider. Making use of a configuration management database (CMDB) is widely regarded as a surefire way of improving work efficiency.
It achieves this aim by delivering a comprehensive view of your IT infrastructure with an overview of each relationship and its dependency on various components. What this all means is that you can manage and anticipate potential disruptions more easily. Using a CMDB can also improve problem management too.
Using a CMDB makes it easier to pinpoint assets within your company’s infrastructure that need attention or upgrading. This improves system efficiency by ultimately reducing service costs and reducing unplanned downtime..
What you can expect from using a configuration management database is a system that helps reduce the complexity of your system and reduce the prospect of errors. This helps everything run more smoothly and efficiently.
Combined with all of the other time-saving tips highlighted, you might discover that your targeted approach to working more efficiently could prove to be transformational.
How many of these ideas could you use to make the way you use your computer more efficient?
