Type Less To Type Faster

It's an unfortunate reality that our productivity as programmers is largely based on not only how fast we can think, but how fast we can make the computer do what we're thinking. So with this in mind, I have this quick little technique for typing less, and as a result, getting more done with less keystrokes and therefore less time.

On my laptop, I've setup Ctrl-Alt-E ("Edit" in case you were wondering) to start the Notepad program without having to navigate the Windows menu structure. So let's say I'm using a particularly lengthy TCL statement for testing. Rather than type that name in every time I need it, I'll press Ctrl-Alt-E and type that command in the Notepad document and use Ctrl-C to copy it to the copy buffer. Then, in SBClient when I need that statement I press Alt-E P and the value copies in where I need it. (Other emulators have similar functionality, possibly with different keystrokes, but the end result is the same.) Of course, if I only have to type it once or twice, typing it in fresh each time may be no big deal. However, if I have to type the command in several times during testing, having it in the copy buffer can save significant time. Furthermore, it's not uncommon for me to have five or six (or twenty!) different things in the Notepad document that I can interactively copy to the buffer for reuse.

Why Notepad? Certainly there are many more powerful editors out in the wild. The answer is simply that Notepad starts fast, and I don't like waiting! This is the same reason why I have a dozen or more Window shortcuts for various applications; navigating the menus for the dozen or so programs I need regularly is far too time consuming.

Try it, I think you'll like it!