3 ms·

It's a trade-off between spending some time thinking about what should be written, and then typing a little - or spending all the time typing, typing, typing, a

It's a trade-off between spending some time thinking about what should be written, and then typing a little - or spending all the time typing, typing, typing, and rewriting. I don't think I've ever been in a job where I was limited by typing speed.

anonporridge 5y ago
In my experience, typing early and rapidly iterating and modifying, i.e. thinking on the page, is FAR more effective than spending tons of time in your own head trying to solve the problem elegantly before you ever type anything. The exception to this might be spending time thinking about the very high level structure you want, since the initial structure you start with can lock you into pattern of trying to solve the problem that might not be the most effective.
jldugger 5y ago
Then you should definitely consider switching keyboard layouts to reduce RSI. I did, last week. Going from 80wpm to 30 wpm is definitely a job impediment (in the short term). So many things are keyboard driven: - communicating with peers over slack - writing code / git commands - writing email, comments in HN, documentation, etc. - taking notes in meetings - all the browser shortcuts - all the CLI readline shortcuts
- romwell 5y ago
  I never thought about RSI, but also I've started having pain/weakness in my right hand last month (that, thankfully, has mostly gone away). The doc said it was tendenitis. I feel like excessive swipe-typing with my thumb may have contributed more than typing to that; but I also play keyboards and it was scary for a second to have that affected. I got myself a vertical mouse; will consider using another layout (which one do you use?). I do type at 75-80WPM (including time to fixe typos), can that really cause RSI? I don't know if I'll be able to pull off even 20wpm with another layout, but looks like it's the next step. Thanks for suggesting it!
- shard 5y ago
  Yes. I've love to be able to type fast enough to take notes so that I don't have to try to read my chicken scratch handwriting and figure out what the hell I was trying to write, especially when referring to notes where I don't have any recollection of what the contents were.

anonporridge 5y ago

In my experience, typing early and rapidly iterating and modifying, i.e. thinking on the page, is FAR more effective than spending tons of time in your own head trying to solve the problem elegantly before you ever type anything. The exception to this might be spending time thinking about the very high level structure you want, since the initial structure you start with can lock you into pattern of trying to solve the problem that might not be the most effective.

jldugger 5y ago

Then you should definitely consider switching keyboard layouts to reduce RSI. I did, last week. Going from 80wpm to 30 wpm is definitely a job impediment (in the short term). So many things are keyboard driven: - communicating with peers over slack - writing code / git commands - writing email, comments in HN, documentation, etc. - taking notes in meetings - all the browser shortcuts - all the CLI readline shortcuts

romwell 5y ago
I never thought about RSI, but also I've started having pain/weakness in my right hand last month (that, thankfully, has mostly gone away). The doc said it was tendenitis. I feel like excessive swipe-typing with my thumb may have contributed more than typing to that; but I also play keyboards and it was scary for a second to have that affected. I got myself a vertical mouse; will consider using another layout (which one do you use?). I do type at 75-80WPM (including time to fixe typos), can that really cause RSI? I don't know if I'll be able to pull off even 20wpm with another layout, but looks like it's the next step. Thanks for suggesting it!
shard 5y ago
Yes. I've love to be able to type fast enough to take notes so that I don't have to try to read my chicken scratch handwriting and figure out what the hell I was trying to write, especially when referring to notes where I don't have any recollection of what the contents were.