I type on a keyboard with only my two middle fingers. This was likely more efficient for my tiny hands at five years old than methods urged by the typing CD-ROMs we had at that time. However as I grew more proportional to a standard keyboard, this early typing style has persisted. I have no idea where to even begin changing this now as it’s been deeply ingrained by decades of habit. Anybody have experience with changing a muscle memory based habit like this?
There are several apps/websites to learn touch typing from the start, you go from using 2 fingers in their proper places up to the whole hand with exercises that go up in difficulty over time, just do sessions of a few minutes each day and thats it.
my personal recommendation would be https://www.typingclub.com/
Textorcist
Get gud
Since you at least know the layout. Typing of the Dead can be fun for forcing you to start using more fingers as things come at you. I needed to force myself to get better in order to make sure I could pass a timed typing speed and accuracy test for a data entry job. Played it a little every night for at least a week before my interview. I was still kind of slow, but was much more accurate. Which got me into a position that corrected or found missing information from the main data entry folks. If arcade zombie games aren’t your thing, there are some other good games mentioned in the other comments.
Glyphica has a demo on Steam that’s good enough for you to get some practice in for free. Typing tower defense.
Thanks for the recommendation! I will give it a try sometime. My typing has gotten better over the years since that job. Mostly due to having co-workers at my current job being faster. Just depends on if I am typing out notes that are basically the same and needing to get things closed at the last minute. lol
introduce a hard break and switch to colemak
I’d recommend Colemak Mod-DH, personally - it seems ergonomically superior and switching later is a bit of a pain.
Our typing class in high school was this teacher spouting nonsense letter combos and us following those dqyvafter day until we had covered home row , upper and lower, then moving onto coping sentences. Reptitiion works. Find your home row dimples on the key board then today is fjf fjf fjf fjf fjf fjf, tomorrow is another
Look at these kids with their fancy keyboards with dimples on f and j. Hahahahah
When I started to repair typewriters as a hobby I was mildly surprised to see that they did not have dimples.
Hows your backpain? You must be going way back on equipment. Everything I have had from 85 on has had a dimple or raised dash.
Now I’m curious about when the dimples were introduced and what was the first device to use them, I just took a look to my collection of typewriters and none of them have dimples.
Chatgpt says 1950s. But who knows if that is accurate
I don’t think so, unless one single brand used them and no one else for the next 40 years.
Electric IBM typewriters from the 90s with keyboards that we would recognise today as a computer keyboard still didn’t have dimples.
I asked a friend with a bigger collection of typewriters to let me know if he notices the bumps on any of them.
Totally unsure if this is accurate, but chatgpt is 100% confident LOL. Brand/Model Approximate Introduction Year Homing Nubs on F and J Keys IBM Selectric 1961 Yes Royal Quiet Deluxe 1939 Yes Hermes 3000 1958 Yes Olivetti Lettera 22 1950 Yes Underwood Standard 1929 Yes
Couldn’t find images showing these. Looks like on computers their is info about it starting in 83
The lettera 22 I can assure you doesn’t have the bump because I have one, the same goes for any other Olivetti I have.
The most modern typewriter I can think of is the IBM wheelwriter, in the pictures I can’t see any bump but I can’t find pictures with high enough resolution to be sure.
