I stopped wasting hours in Chrome by optimizing my workflow with these shortcuts

I keep my Chrome setup simple to maximize its performance.

I don’t install unnecessary extensions, and I change some default settings in the browser to ensure that Chrome runs well on my laptop.

These are all essential changes, and they are easy to find in Chrome.

On top of these, I also use what many could call “hidden tricks” to get the best out of Chrome. You don’t have to dig deep into settings to find them.

But on the flip side, it may become a bit of a challenge to keep applying these tricks, as it requires you to change your deeply ingrained browsing habits.

It took me a week, and in return for my patience, I got a better overall browsing experience on Chrome. By the end of my one-week experiment, I had one regret: not doing it sooner.

I optimized my Chrome workflow for a week by adopting four not-so-well-known tricks and stopped wasting hours.

I use a simple keyboard shortcut to find tabs faster

I do a lot of research online every day, and that’s one major reason my Chrome session usually has a gazillion tabs open most of the time.

However, the downside of having that many tabs open is that you mistakenly close the one you were trying to open.

Opening multiple tabs also reduces their sizes, so there is also a visibility issue that you need to address to get a smooth browsing experience in Chrome.

These are no longer an issue for me in Chrome since I started using a handy keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + A. When I can’t tell which tab is which, I use that shortcut to open the Tab search capability.

The Tab search opens on the left and allows you to use the keyboard to search for tabs you recently closed and the ones that are currently open.

The keyboard shortcut reveals the names of your tabs, so you can quickly spot the ones you want to switch to. All you do is select the right tab in the Tab search menu.

I’ve stopped accessing Bookmarks in the conventional way

Thanks to this shortcut

Not many Chrome users are aware of it, but you can type “@” followed by “h” and then press the Tab key on your keyboard. This allows you to search your browsing history using the URL bar.

I use this shortcut almost daily in Chrome, though I have an entirely different purpose. Instead of using it to search for browsing history, I use it to open the web pages I bookmarked previously.

I type “@,” “b,” and then press the Tab key on my keyboard to start searching for web pages that I bookmarked.

This shortcut is especially handy when you have plenty of web pages saved in the Bookmarks section, like me.

So, instead of scrolling randomly, I use the shortcut to find what I was looking for. It saves me both time and energy.

I’ve set up custom site searches using a Chrome setting

I use the custom Site search feature in Google Chrome to quickly perform a targeted search within a specific website using the URL bar.

So, instead of opening YouTube and clicking the search bar to type the search keywords, I simply type “yt” in Chrome’s URL bar, press the Space key on my keyboard, and then enter the keyword.

If I want to watch Android 17-related videos, I can type that in the URL bar, and it’ll open the Android 17 search results directly.

Here is how I set it up:

1. Open Chrome.
2. Open Settings.
3. Click Search engine.
4. Select Manage search engines and site search.
5. Scroll down to find the Site search section.
6. Click the Add button.
7. Type “YouTube” in the name field and “yt” in the Shortcut field.
8. Type the following in the URL field: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%s

You can set it up for another website like Wikipedia and perform searches within it from Chrome’s URL bar.

Quickly open the address bar and the New tab page using keyboard shortcuts

My Windows laptop doesn’t have a great touchpad, so the less I need to use it, the better.

So, instead of using my trackpad to reach the address bar, I type Ctrl + L on my keyboard to select the address bar.

I don’t use my touchpad to open the New tab page in Chrome, either. The Ctrl + T keyboard shortcut is more convenient than using a mouse or touchpad to open a new tab.

I use the Ctrl + T keyboard shortcut to open a New tab page instantly, and then press Ctrl + L and start typing my query in the address bar.

This is so much faster than moving your mouse and clicking the “+” button.

The small changes that improve your Chrome workflow

Instead of doing anything flashy, I made changes to Chrome that are practical and easy to adopt.

Although I didn’t expect to learn to apply these to my daily Chrome workflow this quickly, they have noticeably improved how I browse the web every day.