A few days ago I learned something AMAZING. Something that will save me anger and frustration in the future.
I learned that if you have a mouse, you can use the shift key when selecting text!!! Did you know this???If not, follow along.
There are some amazing keyboard techniques. My favorite, and it will always be my favorite, is “Command + Z” on the Mac. It might be control-Z on windows, I don’t know anymore, but I do know it works on both.
Anyway, “Command + Z” is “undo.”
Delete a paragraph by mistake?
Command + Z
Cat walks across your keyboard and types a bunch of stuff somewhere in your paper?
Command + Z
Make some edits on some diagrams and they look horrible?
Command + Z
Paste a big, long email twice by accident?
Command + Z
Ok, I knew that holding command and clicking on multiple objects would allow you to select them. What I didn’t know was that clicking on an object, holding down the shift key, and then clicking on something else will capture everything between the two objects!!!!
Rather than clicking a spot and dragging the curser to the end, you can use the shift key! This may not sound like much, but I’m telling you it’s amazing.
I have a column of hundreds of Physician Assistant Exam Scholars members. I have to highlight them all to copy their email addresses for how I deliver the audio version of the newsletter. Do you know how many times I get near the bottom and accidently let go of the mouse and have to do it again? Probably three times before I get it right.
Now, I just click the first email address. Then, I scroll down. Then, I hold shift and click the last one and they are ALL SELECTED!!!!!
What’s even funnier is that the person who taught it to me knows nothing about computers, and I’m our team’s “Super User.” That’s a hospital term for the computer guy on the team.
When she showed me, she said, “Wow, I’m teaching the Super User!”
I didn’t feel the least bit dumb. My ego wasn’t involved at all. If I can learn something useful, I don’t care where it comes from.
But that’s beside the point; the point is that the littlest things can be life changing. The smallest of techniques can save you minutes or hours of frustration.
I created two courses designed to do just that for PA students – save them hours of frustration. You won’t find every technique helpful. You might even know a few of them. Heck, there is very little that’s actually NEW inside, but, if you can walk away with even one thing that can save you an hour or two or three per week, what then?
Take a look here, and together we should be able to lower your stress and increase your scores.
https://wallacedm.lpages.co/myte-get-it-all-done-open
Brian Wallace
