What software development shortcuts actually save meaningful time?

[Anthony.J]

I've been programming for a couple years now and I'm trying to level up my efficiency. Beyond basic shortcuts, what software development shortcuts have you found actually make a significant difference in your daily work? I'm talking about those coding efficiency tips that might take a bit to learn but pay off massively in the long run. How do you balance learning new shortcuts with getting actual work done?

[James.D]

Software development shortcuts that actually save meaningful time: Learn your IDE's refactoring shortcuts (extract method, rename, etc.). These prevent tedious manual updates. Multi-cursor editing for making the same change in multiple places. Quick navigation shortcuts to jump between files, symbols, or recent locations. These coding efficiency tips might take a week to learn but save thousands of keystrokes over a year.

[Alexander.L]

Shell aliases and functions for common commands. If you type the same long command frequently, alias it. IDE snippet expansion for boilerplate code. Debugger shortcuts for stepping through code efficiently. Version control shortcuts within your IDE. The balance comes from learning shortcuts in context when you find yourself doing something repetitive, that's when to look for a shortcut.

[OliviaUH]

Keyboard shortcuts for window management on your OS. Quickly arranging editor, terminal, and browser windows. Browser developer tools shortcuts for web development. Database client shortcuts if you work with databases. The key is to focus on shortcuts for tasks you do daily first. Don't try to learn everything at once pick one area per month to optimize.