We have a straightforward opinion about the shortcuts Ashwinnie13 shared: they are the difference between working in a spreadsheet and fighting one. Ctrl+Shift+Arrow, Ctrl+Space, Shift+Space, and Alt+E+S+V are not tricks. They are fundamental moves that separate someone who navigates data from someone who gets lost in it. The original poster is right to call out these specific keystrokes because they target the single most wasteful action in traditional spreadsheets: manual selection. Every time a user reaches for the mouse to highlight a column or drag down a range, they are introducing friction. Over a week, over a month, that friction compounds into hours of lost time. That is not productivity. That is overhead.
What makes this list valuable is its humility. Ashwinnie13 does not claim to have discovered the fastest method for paste special. They acknowledge there is probably a faster way now. That is the mindset we want to encourage. The goal is not to memorize a static set of commands but to stay curious about the workflow itself. Ctrl+Shift+Arrow selects entire data ranges in a split second. Ctrl+Space selects a whole column. Shift+Space selects a whole row. These are not hidden features buried in menus. They are native, deliberate actions that the software already supports. The barrier is not technology. It is habit. Most users learn Ctrl+C and Ctrl+Z early, then stop exploring. They assume the tools they know are the tools they need. That assumption is costing them.
For anyone who works with messy reports, and that is nearly everyone handling real data, these shortcuts are a survival kit. The original poster mentions formatting speed. We would go further. The ability to select without touching the mouse changes how you think about data. You stop reacting to cells and start commanding them. Alt+E+S+V for paste special values is a perfect example. It strips formatting, removes formulas, and leaves only the raw numbers you actually need. That one keystroke sequence replaces a multi-click dialog box. When you use it fifty times in a single report, the savings are not theoretical. They are measurable.
The real takeaway here is not the specific keys. It is the approach. Ashwinnie13 found Ctrl+, for today's date only recently, years into using spreadsheets. That is not a failure. That is a signal that even experienced users have room to grow. The tools are already in the software. The question is whether you are willing to learn them. Start with one shortcut from this list. Use it until it becomes reflex. Then find the next one. The hours you save are waiting.