There’s something I need to tell you
I can’t type with 10 fingers. Never could. I type with two or three fingers. And I’m lightning fast! But still…
I enrolled in a typing class during senior year in high school (no second grade keyboarding classes for us back then), but ultimately dropped it because it was offered first period and I didn’t have another class till noon. And because I had no plans to become a secretary, which was the only reason to take typing back then, I figured it would never be an issue.
Oh, how dismally wrong I was! I have always been a writer. Now I’m also a social media fanatic, a blogger, a business owner, and an all-day typist. There’s simply no excuse anymore!
Those last three short paragraphs have taken me about five minutes each to type. Why? Because Peter is standing over me, forcing me to type without looking at the keyboard.
“For how much you type every day, Mom, you really should learn to type!” he insists. And he’s right. So the next few weeks are going to be extremely frustrating for me, as I learn to slow down, re-map my brain, and actually learn to use the keyboard correctly.
Be patient with me!
(That’s the longest it’s ever taken for me to write any blog post!)
6 comments:
Peter is right! I know I had the advantage of learning young, but it is an important modern skill. Though I have to admit, I played many a "typing-fish" games to get to this point. I didn't like it at the time, but it worked. :)
I dunno, if you're already lightning fast, why bother? Dennis is a programmer- he keyboards all day, every day- with two fingers. It works for him!
It makes no sense to re-learn typing now, not when you're already fast enough with your hunt-n-peck method. And it's not a "modern skill" at all. The qwerty keyboard was introuced about 150 years ago, and was specifically designed to slow typists down, so you're not going to gain any more speed than you probably already have.
Perhaps Peter should stick to mocking cursive.
I can't type with ten fingers either. I can type without looking, and if you make me think about how I actually manage it, I would surely not manage. I remember my mom looking over my should once when I was in grad school, and she said, "wow, you can type really fast for not knowing how to type."
Baa, I say! I know how to type, I just don't do it like they teach you in a class.
Free your fingers from conformity!!
Hm, on one hand the commenters have a point - if you're already fast enough, why change? On the other hand, I think it's always a good exercise to stretch your brain to learn a new skill. Also, I type close to 100wpm (even on the "qwerty keyboard meant to slow typists down") and it's pretty fantastic to be able to go that fast while not looking at your hands... you can transcribe the spoken word in real time!
funny
my mom forced me to take a typing course when I was 12. I hated it, didn't see the point....skipped the lessons (taught during lunch break at high school) with lots of excuses and really sucked at it.
Then 3 weeks before the exam, I learned from my mom I would need to do the course over again if I failed. Gosh I've typed and practised like hell those 3 weeks and I passed
I know I often get comments at work at my typing speed. I type entirely blind with 10 fingers, can't do it differently. This poses an issue because in Belgium we have a non-qwerty keyboard but azerty (same as in France). So I am absolutely excellent on azerty and then I get a job in Amsterdam, or my husband buys a computer in the UK and I can't use it. Simply because I am so well trained in this one keyboard.
funny I switch my windows settings on my new amsterdam laptop and when the helpdesk comes, they are startled at what they type. The keyboard is qwerty but the settings aren't. Doesn't matter to me since I am typing blind anyway, but nobody else manages to use my computer anymore . hahahaa, sweet.
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