Probably one of the most thriving niches of the “learn Excel” industry is to memorize keyboard shortcuts. The idea is that using a mouse is slow and inefficient. Keyboard shortcuts can speed up your work so many times over.
In fact, the objective for many new analysts is to do what the pro Excel modellers do and run the whole program without a mouse:
I understand the compulsion. Learning a keyboard shortcut is like learning a little magic trick or hack, and a good Ctrl + T or Ctrl + 1 beats fumbling through menu after menu.
That said, I find this obsession with learning keyboard shortcuts misplaced for many Excel users. Here’s where they should be focusing their efforts instead.
First, improve your typing speed
Memorizing keyboard shortcuts without a solid typing speed is like memorizing a bunch of driving routes but walking between them anyway. Where’s the efficiency gain? You’re going so slowly between your destinations that having them memorized really isn’t going to save much time.
My advice to those looking to learn Excel keyboard shortcuts is to first check their typing speed, which can be done at a variety of free online sites like this one.
If someone’s not hitting 60 words per minute (wpm), memorizing keyboard shortcuts is a waste of effort. After all, why obsess over memorizing over some keystroke if you’re going to fumble over finding it anyway?
Not quite to 60 wpm yet? There are plenty of free touch typing resources online, such as right at TypingTest.com. Within ten hours, you’ll probably get to around 40 wpm. Twenty and it’s 50 (These are just estimates… feel free to share your personal data.).
This learning ROI will pay off many more times than memorizing a few keyboard shortcuts and honestly should be mandatory for anyone looking to work in tech:
This will set you apart
One would think that in a tech-dominant world typing speeds would be increasing, but the smartphone throws a thumb-controlled wrench into that theory. People are spending way more times with machines, yes, but those machines increasingly lack physical keyboards. That means the overall interest in touch typing is actually decreasing, to my disappointment:
So take some time to learn touch typing. It will set you apart as more efficient than so many others, in a way that appears to slip under the radar as I have heard zero Excel or analytics influencers giving this advice. You’ll be spending a solid chunk of your work life doing it. Using keyboard shortcuts is just a small portion of that.
What other unconventional or seldom-heard advice do you have for aspiring data analysts or Excel users? Let me know in the comments.
I agree. The obsession with keyboard shortcuts and with “tricks and tips” is misplaced without good typing skills and a strong knowledge of Excel. It’s like an amateur guitar player thinking if the just learn a few more licks, they’ll be able to play the Blues like BB King.
As you learn your way around Excel, your increasing familiarity will lead to techniques that look like tricks to less savvy users.