Becoming a mouse-avoiding keyboard junkie is a learnable skill; it requires practice and memorization—especially muscle memory. Everyone knows a few keyboard shortcuts (like Command-P for print, or Command-Q for quit). Mastering more, along with other efficient ways to control your Mac without reaching for the mouse, will help you get your work done faster, leaving more time for .

Since keyboard shortcuts are the most obvious tool in the mouse avoider’s arsenal, you’ll want to nail those down first. Learn the basics: Command-X, -C, and -V for Cut, Copy, and Paste; Command-W to close a window; and Command-Tab to switch between open applications.

Many Command-Tabbers forget about Command-~, which switches through open windows in the current application. Who among us hasn’t ended up with too many windows filled with too many tabs in our favorite Web browser? Command-~ (and its brother that rotates through open windows in reverse, Command-Shift-~) is a great tool for navigating all those windows. And when you’re in those windows, you can switch between your tabs with Command-Shift-[ and Command-Shift-].