Windows Task Manager is a useful tool to monitor your system and quit applications that are not responding. If you are using the tried-and-true Ctrl-Alt-Delete to access the Windows Task Manager, you are taking the long way there. Instead, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Shift-Esc to access the Task Manager directly.

Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET

In Windows 8, Ctrl-Alt-Delete calls up a menu, of which the Task Manager is one option. This means it's a two-step process to get to the Task Manager. With the Ctrl-Shift-Esc shortcut, you call up the Task Manager directly, giving you quicker access. It may seem like a trivial savings, but when your system is acting strangely or running slowly, any amount of effort saved to root out and shut down the offending application is beneficial.

What are your favorite keyboard shortcuts in Windows 8? Please share in the comments below.

(Via Reddit)