Hi All – We have taught in various companies and we often see people use just “one” hand on the keyboard, while the other hand is playing with their hair, or on the phone, or occupied with other stuff.

The first step to becoming fast in Excel is to use both hands on the keyboard. Always remember that Excel is a “Full-time job” and not a “Part-time job.” Your right hand should be used on the arrow keys and the “Enter” key. The Left hand should be used for Space-bar, Tab, Shift, Ctrl and Alt buttons. Both hands should be used to split up the keys in the middle.

In a lot of our workshops, we see professionals using their “Right” hand to hit space-bar or using the “Left” hand to hit Enter. Doing this is called “Cross-batting” in Excel. It is similar to Cricket, when you try to hit a ball coming from the off-side all the way to the leg-side.

A star professional approaches a job with full commitment, and if you want to become one, start committing yourself to Excel by treating it as a Full-Time Job. You’re sure to surprise yourself every now and then.