If you’re a full on computer power user who spends hours in front of a softly glowing screen, you’ll know that every second you can shave off your navigation time is a second you can use to do something else useful, like make a cup of tea or feed the budgie. These things sound trivial, but they can mean the difference between a relaxed life and one full of stress and uncertainty.

StrokesPlus is a freeware program which adds mouse gesture recognition to your Windows PC. The idea is you draw a gesture with your mouse, e.g. a big letter R, and the software will recognise the symbol and trigger an action for a program or Windows itself. You can set up any number of simple or complex routines, such as automatically logging into your favorite website if you draw a right arrow on screen, and there are also a selection of ready-made gestures offered on the site for you to use.