I personally hate using 3D manipulator widgets (Little red, yellow, and blue arrows and circles) for animating and much prefer using hotkeys.
Here's a list of simple hotkeys I think should be added:
S= Scale (Pressing X, Y, or Z would allow you to manipulate the on the corresponding axis.)
R= Rotate (Pressing X, Y, or Z would allow you to manipulate the on the corresponding axis.)
G= Grab (Freely move the object on all axes, Pressing X, Y, or Z would allow you to manipulate the on the corresponding axis.)
D= Deselect (the current object selected)
I= Insert Keyframe
(These should all be customizable in the settings)
I'm sure more could be more created for more specific tasks but these were the most basic ones I could think of.
Thanks for reading!