something like this?

What the hell is a stream deck? Let me do a quick image s— OMG I WANT ONE

For anyone else who stumbles into this thread, it's a little USB panel of buttons that you can map to shortcuts and apps. A TourBox is a similar idea but for audio/video editing. Unfortunately they're $100+

Maybe this mini three-key macro pad is a cheap alternative? Edit: they come in one, two, foot, four, five, nine, twelve... Edit: and customize them with key caps