Invest once in keyboard shortcuts and automation for software you use often
Most experienced Word users still relied on toolbar icons. In a comparative experiment, shortcuts beat both menus and icons. Learning is an upfront cost with savings on repeated actions; longer use of the same workflows increases the return.
What it takes
Free, but learning may take several to dozens of hours. Initially it can feel slower than the mouse.
What you may gain
A study of 251 experienced Word users found limited use of faster shortcuts and continued reliance on icon toolbars. An experiment confirmed that shortcuts were fastest among menus, icons and keyboard commands. Small savings accumulate with daily repetitions, especially for people doing similar work over many years.
Context & considerations
Prioritize operations you perform more than ten times daily; learning everything can become another waste. The efficiency experiment had only 6 participants, and its abstract did not report seconds saved per operation.
Research & references
Lane, D. M., Napier, H. A., Peres, S. C., & Sándor, A. (2005). Hidden costs of graphical user interfaces: Failure to make the transition from menus and icon toolbars to keyboard shortcuts. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327590ijhc1802_1