2 ms·

I've tried getting better at touch typing a few times. Interestingly, if I do so, I get pretty bad wrist/finger pain (rsi I guess?) so I've not stuck with it.

sfn42 1y ago
On a normal keyboard? I would recommend an ergonomic keyboard. I started off using one from Microsoft then got a Logitech K860 and have been using that at home and at work for over half a decade now. I'm never going back, in my opinion normal keyboards are strictly inferior. It's worth a try if you're having trouble with pain, worked for me. And it isn't just good for health reasons, it's just better suited to human use. It feels more natural and comfortable.
- absoluteunit1 1y ago
  > normal keyboards are strictly inferior. Amen. Had terrible pain in wrists. Switching keyboards, learning touch typing, learning to use just enough force when typing, etc helped with wrist pain so much
dinfinity 1y ago
Same. I am at about 70 wpm and I do semi-touch typing. I can type without looking at the keyboard 95% of the time (symbols etc. are tricky), but I don't use all 10 fingers (pinkies are pretty much unused) and do not rely on having my hands in the 'home' position. Doing the 10 finger based home position approach almost immediately feels incredibly restricting. Some things like typing a C with my middle finger feel like I am doing something counter to my anatomy (when would you ever make such a movement naturally? let alone hundreds or thousand times a day?). I wonder whether it is just a lack of getting used to it or whether people who do the full on touch typing a lot just fuck up their body regularly.
- absoluteunit1 1y ago
  Hey - see my reply to the top comment on this thread about my experience with hand pain. > I wonder whether it is just a lack of getting used to it or whether people who do the full on touch typing a lot just fuck up their body regularly. For me it was a matter of getting used it and building up that finger dexterity. Mind you, I now use an ortho, split keyboard (Kinesis adanvatage 2 ) and touch typing on it, hitting "c" feels natural for me. I can see how on other keyboards it may not be the case. Touch typing "best practice" is after all just a general guideline. These things vary so much because everyone has different keyboards, different sized hands (different finger length). My suggestion is to focus on not tensing up and using just enough force to trigger the key when typing. Starting from touch typing and then adjusting the technique to your own preferences over time. I've seen typist who do 200wpm+ by a technique that they came up on their own based on touch typing.
absoluteunit1 1y ago
> I get pretty bad wrist/finger pain (rsi I guess?) First of all, I'm really sorry. Persistent rsi/hand pain was brutal and terrifying for me. I went through a heavy phase where I even considered having to quit my dream job at the time at a financial tech start-up. I had a mentor (software dev) at this company who shared his story - and he had rsi and it flared up so bad at one point he said he took ~6months sabbatical to recover. Treat it seriously and look for ways to improve if it's bothersome and gets worse. Things that helped me: - rest, breaks, stretching, drink water, frequently - less gaming (I played a lot of league of legends) - learning to type with correct force (often overlooked topic). Practice typing slowly and gently so that you're pressing keys just hard enough to trigger the switch. Mindful, typing practice. Don't focus on speed or accuracy - just the force - switching keyboards; I went through a huge phase of various keybaord (corne/crknbd, various other mechanical keyboards, different layouts) and finally settled on a QMK-modded Kinesis Advantage 2. It's expensive but worth it. My mentor that I mentioned had it too and he recommend it a lot. - breathing; something I'm still working on. I learned that as most people type, they don't breathe and tense up. This has negative effects on your muscles/tissues and leads to unnecessary strain. - posture (split, ergo, ortho keyboards help with posture naturally). Good luck - wrist pain is scary but it's really improved for me. I typed a lot every day - programming, prompting, messages, emails, etc and no pain. (It's fucking magical)

sfn42 1y ago

On a normal keyboard? I would recommend an ergonomic keyboard. I started off using one from Microsoft then got a Logitech K860 and have been using that at home and at work for over half a decade now. I'm never going back, in my opinion normal keyboards are strictly inferior. It's worth a try if you're having trouble with pain, worked for me. And it isn't just good for health reasons, it's just better suited to human use. It feels more natural and comfortable.

absoluteunit1 1y ago
> normal keyboards are strictly inferior. Amen. Had terrible pain in wrists. Switching keyboards, learning touch typing, learning to use just enough force when typing, etc helped with wrist pain so much

dinfinity 1y ago

Same. I am at about 70 wpm and I do semi-touch typing. I can type without looking at the keyboard 95% of the time (symbols etc. are tricky), but I don't use all 10 fingers (pinkies are pretty much unused) and do not rely on having my hands in the 'home' position. Doing the 10 finger based home position approach almost immediately feels incredibly restricting. Some things like typing a C with my middle finger feel like I am doing something counter to my anatomy (when would you ever make such a movement naturally? let alone hundreds or thousand times a day?). I wonder whether it is just a lack of getting used to it or whether people who do the full on touch typing a lot just fuck up their body regularly.

absoluteunit1 1y ago
Hey - see my reply to the top comment on this thread about my experience with hand pain. > I wonder whether it is just a lack of getting used to it or whether people who do the full on touch typing a lot just fuck up their body regularly. For me it was a matter of getting used it and building up that finger dexterity. Mind you, I now use an ortho, split keyboard (Kinesis adanvatage 2 ) and touch typing on it, hitting "c" feels natural for me. I can see how on other keyboards it may not be the case. Touch typing "best practice" is after all just a general guideline. These things vary so much because everyone has different keyboards, different sized hands (different finger length). My suggestion is to focus on not tensing up and using just enough force to trigger the key when typing. Starting from touch typing and then adjusting the technique to your own preferences over time. I've seen typist who do 200wpm+ by a technique that they came up on their own based on touch typing.

absoluteunit1 1y ago

> I get pretty bad wrist/finger pain (rsi I guess?) First of all, I'm really sorry. Persistent rsi/hand pain was brutal and terrifying for me. I went through a heavy phase where I even considered having to quit my dream job at the time at a financial tech start-up. I had a mentor (software dev) at this company who shared his story - and he had rsi and it flared up so bad at one point he said he took ~6months sabbatical to recover. Treat it seriously and look for ways to improve if it's bothersome and gets worse. Things that helped me: - rest, breaks, stretching, drink water, frequently - less gaming (I played a lot of league of legends) - learning to type with correct force (often overlooked topic). Practice typing slowly and gently so that you're pressing keys just hard enough to trigger the switch. Mindful, typing practice. Don't focus on speed or accuracy - just the force - switching keyboards; I went through a huge phase of various keybaord (corne/crknbd, various other mechanical keyboards, different layouts) and finally settled on a QMK-modded Kinesis Advantage 2. It's expensive but worth it. My mentor that I mentioned had it too and he recommend it a lot. - breathing; something I'm still working on. I learned that as most people type, they don't breathe and tense up. This has negative effects on your muscles/tissues and leads to unnecessary strain. - posture (split, ergo, ortho keyboards help with posture naturally). Good luck - wrist pain is scary but it's really improved for me. I typed a lot every day - programming, prompting, messages, emails, etc and no pain. (It's fucking magical)