Being productive with the tools we use everyday takes time, a lot of time. At first, just learning about all the features is overwhelming, but as we spend more time, we can start to progress our skills from manually performing actions, to being able to quickly search, and finally having muscle memory to use shortcuts.
1: Manual
When starting, everything will be manual. Manually doing anything is obviously the slowest way to get anything done, but at least with this method you can do anything. It's an easy way to discover features as you go about your tasks, right clicking on things and using lots of menus commands. But, there will always be a limit as to how fast and efficient your productivity can get. The key to getting faster is replacing these manual processes with automation.
2: Search
As Software Engineers, we have many, many tools for writing code, of which VSCode is probably the most widely used. VSCode perfectly fits both the Manual and Search approach to productivity. Every action (I think) is accessible via menus or main interface, as well as the Command Pallet. Once you've learnt the feature, the Command Pallet makes it available at any time with just a few key presses.
3: Shortcuts
If VSCode epitome Manual and Search, then vim is the master of Shortcuts. Vims modal interface is central to its approach to editing files. there is no hand holding, and the learning curve is steep, but once you've committed the basic motions and commands to memory, every action you perform is direct and targeted. Jump to line, delete paragraph, change quotes, record macros, jump to file …
For productivity, the fastest way to do anything is just do it. Sounds simple, and tools like vim makes this possible, but this great power takes time to master, and what works for one, will not work for another. Optimal productivity will always be a balancing act. Do I need to have shortcuts memorised for actions that I only perform on a handful of occasions, but also, are there any new shortcuts that I can introduce to my current workflow that will provide a compounding impact?