Start with one repeated action
A long list of keyboard shortcuts is easy to read and equally easy to forget. Choose something you already do often. If you constantly locate files, Windows and E for File Explorer is a useful candidate. If you move between two applications, try Alt and Tab. The benefit comes from repetition in the right context, rather than from memorising a large inventory.
Practise with material that does not matter. Copy a sentence in an empty document, paste it elsewhere and undo the change. This teaches the result as well as the keys. A shortcut whose effect you do not understand will not save time during important work, because you will need to investigate what happened afterwards.
The active area changes the meaning
Many combinations act on the currently active window or field. Ctrl and A can select text, but in a file window it can select every file instead. Inspect the selection before following it with a deletion. The same physical movement does not represent the same content-level action in every setting.
Applications may also assign different commands to a combination. Their menus often show the relevant shortcut beside a command. That is more reliable for the particular application than a general reference sheet. On a laptop, an Fn key may additionally be needed to reach function keys rather than their brightness, volume or other device controls.
Adopt a small working set
Limit the first week to a few useful combinations. Write them on a small note near the workspace. When you notice yourself repeating an action with the mouse, deliberately use the shortcut on the next occasion. Replace the note with new combinations later instead of letting it grow into an unreadable catalogue.
Basic standard combinations are especially useful across shared or changing computers. Personal remapping can be convenient but makes moving to another device harder. Document it if you use it. If a combination stops behaving as expected after installing software, check whether that application intercepts it before deciding that the keyboard has failed.
Shortcuts need not replace every mouse movement. For a rarely used chart-formatting operation, a menu may be easier to understand. Judge the result by the flow of the work, not by the number of commands you know. If a shortcut repeatedly distracts you from the content you are handling, leave it aside until it has a clear role in your routine.
