Tips & tricks

Format as a Table: Filters, Banding, and Formulas for Free

Ctrl+T

Ctrl+T turns a range into a “smart” table — automatic filters, formatting for new rows, and readable formulas.

Block off calendar time for focused work

An empty calendar is an invitation to meetings. Block off your mornings for deep work before someone else does it for you.

F4 in Excel: Repeats Your Last Action and Locks a Reference

F4

One key, two superpowers — repeating your last action and toggling dollar signs in a formula.

Excel: Ctrl+Arrow Keys Jump to the Edge of Your Data

Ctrl+↓

Don't scroll through a sheet with thousands of rows. Ctrl+arrow jumps to the end of the block, and with Shift it selects as it goes.

The two-minute rule for your inbox

Anything that takes less than two minutes, do right when you read it. Longer things go to your task list — and archive the email.

Windows Search: extend the index to your working folders

Win+S

When Windows can't “find” your files, it's probably not indexing the right folders. One search setting fixes it all.

Automatically restoring apps after a restart

Windows can reopen the apps that were running before a restart. An overnight update doesn't have to mean rebuilding your workspace in the morning.

Print to PDF: turn anything into a PDF

Ctrl+P

The virtual printer “Microsoft Print to PDF” makes a PDF out of any app that can print — a webpage, an email, even an invoice from your accounting software.

Clipboard sync across computers

Win+V

Clipboard history (Win+V) can sync through your Microsoft account — copy something on your work PC, paste it on your laptop.

Night light: warmer colors after sunset

Blue light in the evening delays falling asleep. Windows can automatically warm up the screen after sunset.

Snap Layouts: window arrangements from the maximize preview

Win+Z

Hover over the maximize button (or press Win+Z) and pick where the window belongs — halves, thirds, a grid.

Win+H: dictate instead of typing

Win+H

Voice typing in Windows works in your language and starts wherever the cursor is blinking. Dictate a first draft of an email in a third of the time.

Virtual desktops: keep work and communication apart

Win+Ctrl+→

Win+Ctrl+D creates a new desktop, Win+Ctrl+arrows switch between them. Slack on one, focused work on the other.

Win+E: File Explorer instantly

Win+E

A new folder, finding a file, copying — it all starts with File Explorer. Open it with a shortcut, not by hunting for an icon.