Who would have ever thought it came to this? I saved three clicks on the computer the other day and it was a big deal.
Fifteen years ago, I would have never said that. Maybe not even five years ago. Perhaps not even 2-3 years ago. But I said it last week when someone showed me a shortcut.
“Here, click this on instead,” my coworker said. “Now go here. Scroll down. There it is.”
So, rather than randomly going through 6-7 taps that you have to remember in sequence, I could shortcut to the projects he and I worked on together in three quick taps of the keyboard, cutting my workload in half. Whew, that was awesome. Now, of course, you still have to remember the exact commands to the shortcut, which is a whole new problem in our current click, tap and scan world. But still, for the most part, it will make life ever so slightly easier.
One of the best things I like about Microsoft Word, our operational document editing choice, is that now when you return from another site location and call up files, the system brings up your most recent 6-8 documents. That’s wonderful when you are writing or editing and had to leave to take care of some other business, whether that was for 10 minutes or 10 days. Those most recent files are right there.
You don’t need to remember their names. You don’t need to remember where you stored them. Easy access. I love it. Thank you, Microsoft.
Humans are a lazy species when you think about it. We want to shorten up tasks, and get things done with less stress and energy so we can go watch roller derby or pro wrestling matches. Since those entertainment options are more important, we try to find ways to shortcut our work output. Microsoft figured out this part of human nature and gave us what we wanted.
GPS apps for your smart phone are another great example of this. Though we use them straightforwardly to find where we are going, we also look for shortcuts. When notified of bad traffic, what’s your instantaneous thought? “How do I avoid that red line? There’s got to be some faster way to get there.”
So we search for alternative routes. “Find the green line for me, dammit.”
Companies that tap into this impulse, saving us time and mental energy, are locked into success. We always choose the easier route given the option.
That’s what hand technology gives us these days -- all those extra options to figure something out. With too many commands though, rather than making life easier, we’re baffled by the choices or can’t figure out how to navigate where we want to go intuitively. So we might avoid taking advice, like that given by my coworker.
On the other hand, when it’s sage advice that you can quickly incorporate into your brain cells and retain for future use, then the new method is golden. Turn it into a regular pattern.
If you master enough shortcut commands, think about all those extra sporting events you can watch on TV, comic books to read, naps waiting to be taken, meals you can eat. Master those shortcuts and the joy of the world unfolds before you.
Fifteen years ago, I would have never said that. Maybe not even five years ago. Perhaps not even 2-3 years ago. But I said it last week when someone showed me a shortcut.
“Here, click this on instead,” my coworker said. “Now go here. Scroll down. There it is.”
So, rather than randomly going through 6-7 taps that you have to remember in sequence, I could shortcut to the projects he and I worked on together in three quick taps of the keyboard, cutting my workload in half. Whew, that was awesome. Now, of course, you still have to remember the exact commands to the shortcut, which is a whole new problem in our current click, tap and scan world. But still, for the most part, it will make life ever so slightly easier.
One of the best things I like about Microsoft Word, our operational document editing choice, is that now when you return from another site location and call up files, the system brings up your most recent 6-8 documents. That’s wonderful when you are writing or editing and had to leave to take care of some other business, whether that was for 10 minutes or 10 days. Those most recent files are right there.
You don’t need to remember their names. You don’t need to remember where you stored them. Easy access. I love it. Thank you, Microsoft.
Humans are a lazy species when you think about it. We want to shorten up tasks, and get things done with less stress and energy so we can go watch roller derby or pro wrestling matches. Since those entertainment options are more important, we try to find ways to shortcut our work output. Microsoft figured out this part of human nature and gave us what we wanted.
GPS apps for your smart phone are another great example of this. Though we use them straightforwardly to find where we are going, we also look for shortcuts. When notified of bad traffic, what’s your instantaneous thought? “How do I avoid that red line? There’s got to be some faster way to get there.”
So we search for alternative routes. “Find the green line for me, dammit.”
Companies that tap into this impulse, saving us time and mental energy, are locked into success. We always choose the easier route given the option.
That’s what hand technology gives us these days -- all those extra options to figure something out. With too many commands though, rather than making life easier, we’re baffled by the choices or can’t figure out how to navigate where we want to go intuitively. So we might avoid taking advice, like that given by my coworker.
On the other hand, when it’s sage advice that you can quickly incorporate into your brain cells and retain for future use, then the new method is golden. Turn it into a regular pattern.
If you master enough shortcut commands, think about all those extra sporting events you can watch on TV, comic books to read, naps waiting to be taken, meals you can eat. Master those shortcuts and the joy of the world unfolds before you.