As we approach mid-summer, I'm taking a quick minute to share 3 keyboard shortcuts I use all the time so you can spend less time at your computer (Mac or PC) and more time enjoying this way-too-short season. Ready? Here we go:

1 | Speech-to-text

Yes, there are lots of apps that effortlessly transform your spoken word into written text which are fabulous for long-form content like transcribing a podcast or writing blogs. But did you know you can do this for short snippets of text without an extra app? On a Mac, tap the "Function" key twice to record; you'll see this little microphone icon pop up. Tap "Function" again to end recording or, after 15 seconds, it will stop recording automatically. In Windows, hit "Win + H" for the same feature. It works in all of the software programs I've tried, including Adobe CC.

2 | Emoji Keyboard

If you're an emoji lover like me 🥰😎😜, you can open an emoji keyboard with "Command + Control + Spacebar" on your Mac. It even saves your frequently used ones at the top. Of course, you can also access these with the touch bar on a MacBook, but I find the key stroke quicker to use and, of course, my iMac doesn't have a touch bar. The only downside is it will only let you choose one emoji at a time. In Windows, type "Win + Period" or "Win + Semicolon" for their emoji keyboard.

3 | Quick Look

On Mac, open a quick preview of any file by clicking the file name and pressing the "Spacebar." Press "Spacebar" again to close the preview, or click on other file names and keep the preview open. As far as I can tell, this is the one feature that doesn't have a Windows equivalent.

In April 2022, Microsoft announced they were adding a feature called PowerToys Peek to Windows 11 which would be accessed with "Shift + Spacebar." I can't find any reports that this feature ever went live? In the meantime, install a third-party tool called QuickLook from Microsoft for a similar shortcut.

There you have it—three ways to help you optimize your time, no matter what season you're in. I'm curious, which of these features are you excited to try?

Here's to making the most of summer! ☀️