Easier way to undo mistakes

In Windows,its easy to undo a mistake by selecting Undo from the Edit menu of any application.
But there's an easier way.Instead of navigating to the Edit menu,simply hold down the Ctrl key and the letter Z on your keyboard.
Doing this will undo your last action.To redo an action that you "undid".try pressing Ctrl-Y.This work in some but not all applications.