Should fingers be hard anchored or is it ok to move them?
By mcyucel - updated: 5 years, 5 months ago - 3 messages
While typing, I have noticed that during pressing the appropriate key with a finger, I cannot/do not keep other fingers fixed on the home row as they are supposed to stay. For example, when typing "example", during lowering left ring finger to x, I lift the middle and index fingers up a little so ring finger moves easier. Also while moving the index fingers to upper and lower rows, i tend to lift the middle finger a little so it loses its location on the home row and needs to find its place again if it is to press on any key there.
Is this a really bad habit, or something that happens? Should I focus on anchoring the fingers?
By user842592 - posted: 5 years, 6 months ago
Now, I am not very experienced, but I think that moving your fingers, so another finger can move more freely, is not a bad thing. As long as you are flexible and can get back to the standard position easily it shouldn't be a problem at all, I do it myself, too.
By papillon - posted: 5 years, 6 months ago
I would look at the basics as a framework to build upon. The reality is, that we all have differently shaped and sized fingers/hands. And for some people, it would be literally impossible to hit all of the keys, unless they moved their hands/fingers around the keyboard a little. I personally keep them quite fixed, until I have to hit certain keys, in which I will usually have to lift my wrists from the desk, to get my fingers closer. I have unusual little fingers and they don't have a lot of strength in them, so I struggle to press the 'P' and 'Q' keys, when the fingers are stretching/straight, so I have to move my hand up slightly to hit these keys with a bent little finger.
Also remember, we don't really learn how to type individual letters on the keyboard (we do, but that isn't the basis of typing fast). What we learn to do is type 'shapes' like that of a guitar player, strumming chords. So as long as you learn the shapes of the words and can efficiently and effectively hit those shapes, I would suggest that the amount that your hands move is mostly irrelevant.
None of us are really going to type in the most efficient way of all time. I do a couple of unorthodox things and I am sure I could be slightly more efficient with my hand movements etc. But the reality is that I type at around 100 WPM and that's about as fast as you could hope to need.
By timw4mail - posted: 5 years, 5 months ago
I can type without looking, so I would consider myself a touch-typer. I only use the left shift, though, so I have to move my left hand more than my right hand, and it often requires leaving the home row when capitalizing a key on the left hand side.
As to why I only use one shift, I'm not sure, I've just always done it that way.
