How to create your own windows shortcut keys

There's an old saying I like to tell people when they start experiencing computer frustrations. Computers can improve efficiency by 300% but often create 100% more work. In other words, you can improve your work output tremendously but you might go a little crazy trying to get there.

A technique essential to maximizing your work efficiency in a Windows or Mac OS environment is the use of keyboard shortcuts. Quick keys are keyboard shortcuts you can use to perform a simple task like copying and pasting, or opening a program like your favorite internet browser.

Complete list of Windows shortcuts

Complete list of Mac OS X shortcuts

Today I'd like to teach you how you can set your own keyboard shortcuts for programs you'd like to access the quickest way possible at the touch of a finger.

I use spybot a lot to perform all sorts of maintenance behind the scenes. So for this example, I'm going to assign a keyboard shortcut to access spybot.


First, locate the icon of the program you want to assign the shortcut. In this case spybot



Next, open the properties window by right-clicking the icon and select properties.




Now, define your shortcut key by clicking in the shortcut key field, then hold the ctrl key and press the key that you would like to use as your shortcut.



I choose to assign the "0" key to this shortcut since I know 0 is not a key I already use. Now all I have to do to open spybot is press Ctrl + Alt + 0. You may find that assigning keys that are close to the Ctrl and Alt keys are more efficient since you can use one hand to open the shortcut. It's good practice to use keys you can remember easily such as Ctrl + Alt + P to open windows Paint.