How to Use GrantCraft's Keyboard Shortcuts for Faster Writing

Why Writing Speed Matters in Grant Work

Grant writers operate under constant deadline pressure. A typical grant cycle involves weeks of research, planning, writing, reviewing, and revising, often compressed into timelines that feel too short for the amount of work required. When you are managing multiple proposals simultaneously, as many grant writers and consultants do, every minute saved on mechanical tasks is a minute you can invest in strategic thinking, stronger narratives, and better program design.

The GrantCraft Proposal Builder is designed to minimize friction in the writing process. Beyond its structured step-by-step approach, the platform includes keyboard shortcuts and navigation features that help experienced users move through their work more efficiently. This guide covers the techniques that will speed up your workflow.

Navigation Shortcuts

Moving between sections quickly is one of the biggest time-savers when working on a multi-section grant proposal. Instead of scrolling or clicking through menus, use these navigation approaches:

Step Navigation

The GrantCraft builder organizes your proposal into logical steps. You can move between steps quickly using the step navigation panel, which remains accessible throughout your writing session. This is particularly useful when you need to cross-reference information between sections, such as checking your need statement data while writing your objectives, or reviewing your budget while drafting your sustainability plan.

Quick Jump

When you need to jump to a specific section of your proposal, use the table of contents or section headers to navigate directly rather than scrolling through the entire document. This becomes increasingly valuable as your proposal grows longer and more detailed.

Text Editing Efficiency

Most grant writing happens in text editors, and mastering basic text editing shortcuts dramatically speeds up your workflow. These shortcuts work within GrantCraft and across all writing platforms:

Select word: Double-click any word to select it, then type to replace it immediately.
Select line: Triple-click to select an entire paragraph, useful for moving or deleting blocks of text.
Move by word: Hold Option (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) while pressing arrow keys to jump between words instead of characters.
Select by word: Hold Option+Shift (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift (Windows) with arrow keys to select text word by word.
Jump to line start or end: Command+Left/Right (Mac) or Home/End (Windows) to move to the beginning or end of a line.
Undo and redo: Command+Z and Command+Shift+Z (Mac) or Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y (Windows) to quickly undo mistakes or restore deleted text.
Find and replace: Command+H (Mac) or Ctrl+H (Windows) to search for specific terms and replace them throughout your proposal. This is essential when a funder changes their terminology or when you need to update a figure across multiple sections.

Writing Workflow Techniques

Beyond individual shortcuts, these workflow techniques will accelerate your overall writing process:

Write in Passes

Rather than trying to write a perfect first draft, make multiple passes through your proposal. The first pass lays out your key points and arguments in rough form. The second pass develops the evidence and detail. The third pass refines the language and checks for consistency. This approach is faster than agonizing over perfect sentences on the first attempt, and it produces better results.

Use the Templates as Starting Points

The GrantCraft template library provides structured starting points for common grant types. Starting from a template rather than a blank page eliminates the mental overhead of deciding how to structure your proposal and gets you into productive writing faster.

Draft in Sections, Not Sequence

You do not have to write your proposal from beginning to end. Start with the section you know best or feel most confident about. For many writers, this is the program description or the organizational background. Building momentum with a strong section makes it easier to tackle the more challenging parts like the evaluation plan or budget justification. The GrantCraft Proposal Builder allows you to work on any step in any order, supporting this non-linear writing approach.

Efficiency in Review and Revision

The review and revision phase often takes as long as the initial writing. Speed it up with these techniques:

Read aloud: Reading your proposal aloud catches awkward phrasing, run-on sentences, and logical gaps that your eyes skip when reading silently. This single technique catches more errors than any other review method.
Reverse outline: After writing, create an outline of what you actually wrote, not what you planned to write. This reveals structural problems, missing elements, and redundancies.
Checklist review: Use the GrantCraft submission checklist to systematically verify that every requirement is met rather than relying on memory.
Fresh eyes break: If your deadline allows, step away from the proposal for at least 24 hours before your final review. You will catch errors and identify improvements that were invisible when you were deep in the writing process.

Building Speed Over Time

Writing speed in grant work comes from experience and systems, not from typing faster. Each proposal you write with the GrantCraft Proposal Builder builds your library of language, your understanding of funder expectations, and your ability to move efficiently through the proposal development process. Track how long each section takes you and set realistic goals for improvement. For more on building your grant writing skills over time, see our guide on grant writing career paths and professional development.

Start Writing More Efficiently

Open the GrantCraft Proposal Builder and practice these techniques on your current proposal. The combination of GrantCraft's structured framework and efficient writing practices will help you produce higher-quality proposals in less time, freeing you to take on more projects and serve more organizations.

Learn more about grant writing strategies at Subthesis.

Ready to build a complete grant writing skill set? The Complete Grant Architect course covers everything from needs assessment to budget construction to post-award management.