Efficient web browsing

Regardless of which web browser you use, you can greatly improve your navigation efficiency by using the keyboard when browsing.

It is little known that one can hit Enter to follow a selected link, there is no need to reach for the mouse every time. This is especially useful when a web page consists of many links you need to follow one after the other, allowing you to TAB to the next link, then hit Enter to follow it. You then use Backspace or Alt+LEFTARROW to return to the page and repeat the process:

TAB, Enter, Backspace, TAB, Enter, Backspace, TAB, Enter, Backspace...

Try it! You'll be amazed how you can quickly visit many pages without taking your hands off the keyboard.

Yes, the web is normally associated with clicking on links and occasionally typing in something. But things have changed. Many web pages are actual applications (like Google's GMail or Documents) with complete keyboard support. The Google Documents word processing application supports all the usual keys you would expect in such a tool: Ctrl+S, Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I, Ctrl+U...

Text substitution

Are you tired of typing common phrases like:

For what it's worth,
If I remember correctly,
As far as I know,
By the way,
as soon as possible.

So am I, so I stopped doing this years ago, that is, after I taught my computer to generate them automatically when it sees btw, afaik, asap, and so on. I type in  a few letters, and watch them as they expand into text strings of any length. Microsoft Word also has this feature, but for me this works everywhere, globally.

Many keyboard macro tools can do this simple substitution. I use Autohotkey (freeware). Here is what the "programming", which can be written using Notepad, looks like:

:*:fwiw::For what it's worth,{Space}
:*:iirc::If I remember correctly,{Space}
:*:afaik::As far as I know,{Space}
:*:btw::By the way,{Space}
:*:asap::as soon as possible.

Even if you have never programmed in your life, you can learn to use Authotkey, but you must put some effort into it! Spend a few hours learning it, and reclaim days of your life for something else other than typing boring, repetitive text!