You’ve probably had to use Google at least once in the past week – be it searching for the latest hangout place, the directions between two places or even using their cloud services like Google Docs or Sheets. Well, did you know that the following Google shortcuts exist?

It is hard to imagine our lives without Google today. We depend on Google to be our virtual assistant, seeing to all our needs and providing us the information and help we need. Hence, it is important to learn about the products that Google has to offer as well as the multiple shortcuts available for you to be more efficient!

Products

Google Search

One of the most used Google product would be the Google Search function. It literally holds nearly all the information in the world that you possibly need. For students, Google search is probably their life-saver, as it can give the answer to nearly every question out there in the world. Based on your location, Google tries to return you searches that are more relevant to your area. For example, typing “weather” will give you the latest weather forecast for your present location.

Do check out other awesome sites such as this to find out more shortcuts on how to be proficient at Google Search.

Google Search Shortcuts

Google Maps

Life has never been easier with Google Maps. Gone are the days where you need to flip through street directories and physical maps to figure out where on earth you are. Worse still, you need to know how to tell where ‘North’ is on your compass (URGH). Now, all you need to do is to give your input to Google on where you would like to start your journey and where is your end destination. Google will then do the work for you – calculating the shortest or fastest path, giving you alternative routes as well. You can then make a decision on which route to take and follow it.

If you are walking or driving, fret not, Google has included an arrow head to make it convenient to tell which direction you are facing. This helps with navigation as you will be able to tell easily if you are heading the right way (or not).

Tips & Tricks

You can always bookmark your frequent locations, and labelling them such as “Home” or “Office” so it will be easy for you to set them as either a start or end location. You can also consider doing searches in Google Maps, such as “Food near me”, Google will then suggest possible food places for you to explore. (Neat right?)

If you’re planning for a future trip, you can always adjust the time you would like to depart by or arrive by and Google will recommend the best routes for different modes of transport. They have paths for driving, walking, cycling and taking the public transport. If you would like to familiarise yourself with the buidlings or scenery that you will be getting off at, you can always try their awesome “Street View” mode. You can view the surroundings as if you were actually there!

Lastly, if you are planning a vacation, consider using the Google Map layers, where you can add different types of places you’d like to visit and plan the best route to visit them all!

Moving in the right direction

Hope these products mentioned above will help you be better in Google searches and navigating your way. In the next part, we will be looking at other cool Google products that will help with online meetings. In the meantime, do check out my past posts on a range of other skills.


ICYMI

Take a break: do a wordle

Staying safe on the internet: avoid getting phished

Feeling overwhelmed: don’t forget about time management!