4 ms·

Why write on the phone when routinely journalling before and after bed? I always feel stifled by typing speed on a touch keyboard; in this case especially, it s

by mgdlbp 4y ago

Why write on the phone when routinely journalling before and after bed? I always feel stifled by typing speed on a touch keyboard; in this case especially, it seems minimizing the friction of expressing a spontaneous thought would take priority. I don't see mention of dictation, unless it's a given with the app. Or is that particular workflow feature so beneficial as to offset this?

swatcoder 4y ago
It doesn’t take that much practice to get typing speed/comfort up to the speed of organized, phrased thoughts. A lot of people have that already from communicating on their phones a lot, or (for the young ones) growing up on touch screens, but even if you just dive into journaling like the OP, you’d probably get their soon enough. And once you’re there, dictation can’t hold a candle. I’ll type a paragraph in the time it takes for some dictation assistant to transcribe a sentence, with fewer mistakes, more precision, and more linguistic creativity.
- mgdlbp 4y ago
  I see now that I didn't make it clear that I commented because I find desktop typing superior rather than as a general lament of typing speed. That'd be the curse of knowledge, only in the domain of personal context.
sircastor 4y ago
> I always feel stifled by typing speed on a touch keyboard My typing speed on a laptop keyboard was the thing that finally made journaling work for me. I could never write fast enough by hand to capture my thoughts.
- hackernewds 4y ago
  Have you tried swipe typing?
  - sircastor 4y ago
    I have. It’s actually my primary input method for my phone. It’s certainly fast, but I’m still better with a physical two-handed keyboard.
    - mgdlbp 4y ago
      Ditto. Though I see now: it seemed obvious to me commenting initially that physical keyboard typing speed ≫ touch keyboard typing speed. Rather, a cursory search now shows averages of around 50 WPM vs 40 WPM, so there isn't much difference for most people; I don't doubt that with practice on the phone some will upset the inequality. But up in the tails is where mobile falls short: I think I'll be sticking with writing on desktop when I can, as judging by the record mobile typing speed of either 85 or 110 WPM (over only 25 words ≈ 15 seconds), I don't think I have much chance of approaching my two-handed typing in practice. But maybe there's a benefit in slowing down, perhaps more concise notes the first time around? For millennia diarists scribbled on dead plants, after all. Then again, the average writing ability was illiteracy, and isn't there the cliché of individuals nowadays being more productive than ever before?

by mgdlbp 4y ago

swatcoder 4y ago

It doesn’t take that much practice to get typing speed/comfort up to the speed of organized, phrased thoughts. A lot of people have that already from communicating on their phones a lot, or (for the young ones) growing up on touch screens, but even if you just dive into journaling like the OP, you’d probably get their soon enough. And once you’re there, dictation can’t hold a candle. I’ll type a paragraph in the time it takes for some dictation assistant to transcribe a sentence, with fewer mistakes, more precision, and more linguistic creativity.

mgdlbp 4y ago
I see now that I didn't make it clear that I commented because I find desktop typing superior rather than as a general lament of typing speed. That'd be the curse of knowledge, only in the domain of personal context.

sircastor 4y ago

> I always feel stifled by typing speed on a touch keyboard My typing speed on a laptop keyboard was the thing that finally made journaling work for me. I could never write fast enough by hand to capture my thoughts.

hackernewds 4y ago
Have you tried swipe typing?
- sircastor 4y ago
  I have. It’s actually my primary input method for my phone. It’s certainly fast, but I’m still better with a physical two-handed keyboard.
  - mgdlbp 4y ago
    Ditto. Though I see now: it seemed obvious to me commenting initially that physical keyboard typing speed ≫ touch keyboard typing speed. Rather, a cursory search now shows averages of around 50 WPM vs 40 WPM, so there isn't much difference for most people; I don't doubt that with practice on the phone some will upset the inequality. But up in the tails is where mobile falls short: I think I'll be sticking with writing on desktop when I can, as judging by the record mobile typing speed of either 85 or 110 WPM (over only 25 words ≈ 15 seconds), I don't think I have much chance of approaching my two-handed typing in practice. But maybe there's a benefit in slowing down, perhaps more concise notes the first time around? For millennia diarists scribbled on dead plants, after all. Then again, the average writing ability was illiteracy, and isn't there the cliché of individuals nowadays being more productive than ever before?