To be on Your Own Pace

It will seem bizarre for many, but sure enough, I wanted to put it down in writing!

Several of my acquaintances work on a laptop or use a keypad. Being a software professional, I also spend a large part of the day on my computer. One thing that I wanted to pursue was to type my programming code fast, and I presume many other people strive to do the same too.

I did not do it early in my job, so five years back, during a long career break, I started using Ratatype (a website that teaches you touch-typing).

I dedicated one hour of my everyday life to the quest of achieving speed and multitasking agility.

And while at that pace, I didn't even look around!

Not to discourage anyone who still wants to learn touch typing. It is a one-of-a-kind of skill, and Ratatype is an excellent trainer. But, I figured out more cons than benefits towards attaining this skill. Instead of speedily typing, I was speedily marrying those drawbacks to my brain, and soon enough, I gave up Ratatype.

The first thing I realized after an hour on Ratatype - was that my fingers were very stiff. They were continuously resting in a fixed position, with all the joints locked in for a precise duration. Then, once my practice was over, I was doing everything to stretch my fingers, squeeze them and make them exercise.

Like now, I wanted to play the piano!

My eyes were also having trouble focusing. For an hour, I was looking at my laptop screen, focusing on one word after another and then sentences filling up sequentially for paragraphs. My eyes were constantly focusing on a fixed distance. When I tried to focus on some distant object in my room, it took me a while to clear up my vision.

So, eventually, I reasoned out that my profession or any other profession in such a case wouldn't demand typing alone. It will still need you to think, to read, to look around so that you can rejuvenate yourself. Why focus on one single skill that has notable drawbacks? I had velocity in so many other things in my life that this felt an unnecessary inclusion.

I want to look around and type along at my own pace. Break whenever my fingers long to, and move my focus on different objects in the room as my mind untangles the logic and technical aspects. So the best thing to do was to get back to my traditional look-typing speed so that the other necessities of my job requirements could fit in between my typing words. As, when, and where needed!

Well, all of this is just one popped-up kernel that needs your opinion! I did love to know if anyone has ever found touch typing as something you just couldn't have done without in your profession.

Now that I think more, maybe a data entry specialist!

By: Joyeeta Mukherjee

Disclaimer:
This article and the opinions expressed in it are personal opinions. It is not meant for imposing specific views or endorsing a particular way of life. Also please do ignore any errors or omissions that you might come across. We pledge to learn from them. Happy viewing.