Perhaps this article is not for you, but my question is this: do you want to spend your time heading towards doing stuff, or doing stuff? You may have an extremely casual, informal relationship with your computer and that’s cool, too. You’re likely not in as a big a hurry as I, that’s fine. Ok, I can’t even do the math I’ve got the productivity shakes here. Finally, let’s multiply that by the number of other micro-tasks you’re doing where you’re doubling the amount of necessary effort. Let’s multiply that by 30 days in a month, which is 5550 points. All I’m thinking about is the 37 mails you send each day multiplied by 5 points = 185. I enjoy the slow gracefulness by which the mouse glides over to my dock and I select the mail application, after which I select the File menu, followed by New Message. The ones who waited for me to say Go to compose a new mail and the ones who read “compose a new mail message” and pressed the three keys that are necessary, from anywhere in the OS, to fire up a new compose window.Īnything more than three points to compose a new mail is a massive waste of your time. Each key or key combination you click is 1 point. From this article, I want you to count the number of discrete steps it takes you to compose a new mail message. I’m a fan of this ignorance because I’ve got other crap I need to do, and I don’t want to sweat the details, but here’s the rub: the details might be wasting a huge amount of your time.
By learning to do a thing, you also forget it’s there, which means as new, improved means of doing things show up, you remain blissfully ignorant. The blessing of learning a thing is also a curse. All I know is I’d unblocked the path to do what I needed to do so that I could forget it was there. Was my new solution faster? I don’t know. I didn’t think about app switching again.
Launchbar shortcuts for keyboard install#
After the install of the new system preference, the hangnail vanished. A task I’d taken for granted was now a mental hangnail, which threw off all my timing.Ī quick search of the Internet revealed a fine shareware replacement for application switching. The pathway I’d learned to do a simple, essential task was blocked.
Launchbar shortcuts for keyboard mac os x#
Problem was, when I made the move from Windows to Mac OS X, there was no Cmd-Tab equivalent, so my first moment inside of Mac OS X felt like this… In Windows, it’s Alt-Tab, and in Mac OS X, it’s Cmd-Tab. The ability to quickly context switch between apps is so common a task that they’ve developed a keyboard command just for us.
I’ll explain via an example.Īpplication switching inside of an operating system is the foundation of NADD. Your brain protects you from this mundane observation because your brain is really good at repetition. Most of the time when you’re sitting at your computer, you’re doing exactly the same things. Yes, the mouse is in play, but did you have any idea how much manipulation he did via the keyboard? Want to know why? Because anyone who has a deep, meaningful relationship with a computer is constantly looking for a way to save a few seconds. Go find the Photoshop guru on your floor and watch him or her work. PHOTOSHOP LOVES THE MOUSE.Ĭalm down, yes, when it comes to art, to replicating the natural brushstroke, there is nothing better than the mouse (except a Wacom tablet), but do this for me. The mouse, while incredibly useful as a casual means of interacting with a computer, is not a productivity tool, because when you use a mouse you sometimes miss and missing isn’t productive. I’ve been ripping on the mouse for years.
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