I call formatting a necessary evil in Excel. It can easily take as long as the analysis itself — but the nice thing is that good formatting makes for better, quicker data analysis.
Keep the Ctrl+1 shortcut handy when formatting your data. It will launch the Format Cells menu from which you can re-format selected cells.
Every keyboard shortcut saves a second or two vs. using the mouse. Think of this time-savings spread over weeks and months and it’s significant! Wonderful!
This is my favorite shortcut, by far. And it’s better than you say. It’s not just for formatting cells, it’s for formatting whatever is selected in Excel. Select a cell, Ctrl-1 pops up Format Cells. Select a chart axis, and Format Axis pops up. I get mad when Ctrl-1 doesn’t work in PowerPoint or Word.