I use a lot of keyboard shortcuts on my computer. I try to use the mouse as little as possible. Remembering all the shortcuts I use daily would be really challenging. Instead of relying on raw memorization, I use a set of consistent patterns and strategies to make it easier. There’s still a lot of memorization involved, but these patterns simplify things.
Top-level categories
- Navigation: h, j, k, l
- Launching applications: Meh
- Raycast commands: Hyper
- Managing windows with Aerospace: ⌥ Option
- Managing panes (e.g., Neovim windows): ⌃ Control
In my experience, using Meh, Hyper, ⌥ Option, and ^ Control typically avoids conflicts with application-specific shortcuts, which usually involve ⌘ Command and/or ⌘ Command + ⇧ Shift.
Navigation (left, right, up, down)
At the core of my workflow are the Vim navigation keys. Whenever an action involves a specific direction, I always use the Vim navigation keys with a modifier.
- Left: h
- Down: j
- Up: k
- Right: l
Launching applications
The apps I use most often can be launched with the Meh key. “Meh” is shorthand for ⌥ Option + ⌃ Control + ⇧ Shift. Wherever possible, I use mnemonics so shortcuts are easy to remember. I configure them in Raycast.
Here are a few examples:
- Vivaldi (web browser): Meh + b
- Obsidian: Meh + o
- WezTerm: Meh + w
Raycast commands
In addition to launching applications, I also use Raycast to invoke shortcuts. These are always triggered with Hyper. “Hyper” is shorthand for ⌘ Command + ⌥ Option + ⌃ Control + ⇧ Shift.
I try to choose mnemonics to make them memorable. A few examples:
- Fix spelling and grammar: Hyper + g
- Open Raycast calendar: Hyper + c
- Search menu items: Hyper + m
Managing windows with Aerospace
I use Aerospace to move between and organize windows. Most of my Aerospace shortcuts are mapped to ⌥ Option:
- Focus on window to the left: ⌥ Option + h
- Focus on window to the right: ⌥ Option + l
- Focus on window above: ⌥ Option + k
- Focus on window below: ⌥ Option + j
Whenever moving left, right, up, or down is involved, I try to incorporate the Vim navigation keys. This sometimes complicates things because I also want to use them for swapping panes. To handle this, I use ⇧ Shift along with ⌥ Option when swapping windows in Aerospace:
- Swap with window to the left: ⌥ Option + ⇧ Shift + h
- Swap with window to the right: ⌥ Option + ⇧ Shift + l
- Swap with window above: ⌥ Option + ⇧ Shift + k
- Swap with window below: ⌥ Option + ⇧ Shift + j
Managing panes
Some of the applications I use support multiple panes—for example, in Neovim you can have several panes open.
To move between panes, I use ⌃ Control as my prefix with the Vim navigation keys:
- Focus on pane to the left: ⌃ Control + h
- Focus on pane to the right: ⌃ Control + l
- Focus on pane above: ⌃ Control + k
- Focus on pane below: ⌃ Control + j
In my web browser, I’ve also mapped:
- ⌃ Control + j and ⌃ Control + k to move between tabs
- ⌃ Control + h and ⌃ Control + l to navigate between workspaces