[Off-Topic] Tips for not hitting multiple keys, and becoming more efficient with keyboard usage?

[Enigma83]

Recently I bought a fancy mechanical keyboard, for use with my current laptop, and a future PC which I will soon be ordering. I havent used a mechanical keyboard frequently since the early 2000s, when I last had a desktop. Ever since then I've primarily used laptops, they are just better for on the go usage, it would be kinda hard to lug a desktop around everywhere. I spend alot of time away from home anyway.

However, laptop keyboards tend to be compact and cramped, so this was the main motivator for buying a mechanical keyboard. And because of issue's with my Dell's internal keyboard (ghost keys being pressed even though I never touched them).

I frequently find myself hitting multiple keys when I only intended to hit one. Causing lots of use of the backspace/delete keys. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the red switches, I chose them because they're not as loud as blue/brown switches. I'm not a professional typist, so I feel that tactile feedback isnt much of a concern. My main use case scenario is general and gaming, perhaps business related stuff when necessary. Is there a way to reduce the frequency of tapping more than one key? My fingers arent particularly fat, I'd say more slender/long than anything else, and probably a bit longer than the average person. I could see fat fingers being an issue, but I'm sure that's not the case for me.

I've also been considering learning touch typing, not necessarily to type faster, but to be more efficient. But I'm not sure if that in itself will help.

Any tips?

[Linuxgaming1824]

I can't stand not having a mechanical keyboard actually. For me, my typing style is very fast and disorderly, like a habit I've just developed from using computers for so long.

The mechanical keyboard gives me just the right spacing, for my fingers to dance around the keyboard at the lightning speed I am comfortable with.

Then I tried to get a silent keyboard years ago, so I wouldn't make my roommates mad with my obnoxiously loud and fast typing, more like furious typing, and it has chiclet keys which I believe are a style more common for european/uk keyboards? And it is only quiet if I type deliberately as slow as possible, it's nowhere near silent, breaks my fingernails all the time, and slows down my typing and it's natural efficiency to a crawl, and makes me hit keys incorrectly all the time.

I know there are classes/books for proper typing, but I am happy with my own unique style I've developed actually. I just miss the mechanical keyboard, and wish I could get a good high quality one that is silent, which is called no-feedback, also want a good silent mouse for gaming, but just because they are "silent" and many of them are falsely advertised it doubles the price tag!

If you practice writing, or even copying other people's writing, if you're not feeling creative, you will naturally get better. To be the best, you want the typing classes.

[Enigma83]

I can't stand not having a mechanical keyboard actually. For me, my typing style is very fast and disorderly, like a habit I've just developed from using computers for so long.

The mechanical keyboard gives me just the right spacing, for my fingers to dance around the keyboard at the lightning speed I am comfortable with.

Then I tried to get a silent keyboard years ago, so I wouldn't make my roommates mad with my obnoxiously loud and fast typing, more like furious typing, and it has chiclet keys which I believe are a style more common for european/uk keyboards? And it is only quiet if I type deliberately as slow as possible, it's nowhere near silent, breaks my fingernails all the time, and slows down my typing and it's natural efficiency to a crawl, and makes me hit keys incorrectly all the time.

I know there are classes/books for proper typing, but I am happy with my own unique style I've developed actually. I just miss the mechanical keyboard, and wish I could get a good high quality one that is silent, which is called no-feedback, also want a good silent mouse for gaming, but just because they are "silent" and many of them are falsely advertised it doubles the price tag!

If you practice writing, or even copying other people's writing, if you're not feeling creative, you will naturally get better. To be the best, you want the typing classes.

I'm 40, I live alone. No partner, children, roommates, pets, etc that would ever hear the keyboard. And it doesn't leave the house. So I don't have to consider whether anyone else is bothered by the sound. However, I myself have never liked loud keyboards, which is why I chose a red switch keys model. It still makes a sound when the keys are pressed, but it's not overly loud.

I used to be good moderately good at touch typing, but that was a long time ago. And I don't recall touch typing being ever being particularly helpful for reducing the frequency of hitting the wrong keys. Which is why I thought to ask here.

So far I haven't found any good Linux software to improve typing skills (I mean that what I've tried has worked, but didn't seem to be very intuitive/user friendly). I think on Windows the closest thing for this is Mavis Beacon, which I'm sure would work in WINE. But the last time I tried to make it work, I couldnt get it to launch. Probably missing some software dependency or needs particular settings.

My main points I want to focus on are reducing errors, improving speed, and overall efficiency.

[Linuxgaming1824]

I think I got good with my informal typing, through simply speaking to people online, and writing. I never even considered needing anything more than that.
I enjoy the sound of the mechanical keyboard actually, and I can hear myself typing with the chiclet keys and I can't stand it, and I'm making all sorts of mistakes, because my fingers want to go fast, but without proper hand positioning it doesn't work with the chiclet keyboard. With the mechanical keyboard it's like my fingers dance around hitting everything exactly how I want them to.

I had to take a typing test at some point in my life...can't remember the details, and one of the people I was compared to had formal typing training, they got 80 words a minute, I got 70 words a minute, with similar efficiency(amount of errors)

I actually thought about becoming a stenographer in the past, because I think typing is very enjoyable, and for that kind of work it is demanding of expertise in the biggest sense by far. You should look into learning to be a stenographer, and you'll learn to be a better typist than conventional methods can teach you.

[Enigma83]

I think I got good with my informal typing, through simply speaking to people online, and writing. I never even considered needing anything more than that.
I enjoy the sound of the mechanical keyboard actually, and I can hear myself typing with the chiclet keys and I can't stand it, and I'm making all sorts of mistakes, because my fingers want to go fast, but without proper hand positioning it doesn't work with the chiclet keyboard. With the mechanical keyboard it's like my fingers dance around hitting everything exactly how I want them to.

I had to take a typing test at some point in my life...can't remember the details, and one of the people I was compared to had formal typing training, they got 80 words a minute, I got 70 words a minute, with similar efficiency(amount of errors)

I actually thought about becoming a stenographer in the past, because I think typing is very enjoyable, and for that kind of work it is demanding of expertise in the biggest sense by far. You should look into learning to be a stenographer, and you'll learn to be better typist than conventional methods can teach you.

I don't want to be a stenographer, it's something I wouldn't consider as a career path. At my age, my professional path is pretty much settled. I make a decent income, more than I would need, and enough to pay the bills and still have spending money. I'm self employed, i like being my own boss, and being able to do things on my own schedule. A 9 to 5 job has never been my thing. I do somewhat have to adjust to the schedules of potential clients. But I also set boundaries, in regards to when I'm simply unavailable, times that I won't work. So I do have wide latitude in choosing my hours. I really do believe in "me time", when I can just relax and not work. For me, messing with computers is a hobby, not a career.

[pbear]

There's no magical solution. I've always been a pretty good but not particularly fast typist, going back to typewriter days. Over time, though, my accuracy (never perfect) has slipped. Several months ago, I switched to a plain text editor for notes-to-self (which I do a lot, e.g., Linux how-to notes). I notice that, without the crutch of a while-you-type spell checker, I've gotten more careful. You could try an exercise of that sort.

[Enigma83]

There's no magical solution. I've always been a pretty good but not particularly fast typist, going back to typewriter days. Over time, though, my accuracy (never perfect) has slipped. Several months ago, I switched to a plain text editor for notes-to-self (which I do a lot, e.g., Linux how-to notes). I notice that, without the crutch of a while-you-type spell checker, I've gotten more careful. You could try an exercise of that sort.

I can't remember the last time I used a spell checker. Because I don't really need one. I won multiple spelling bee and literary awards back in my school days, and I do alot of reading. Besides some obscure/really long words, I usually get my word spellings right the first time. Except, of course, when it comes to typos. My brain knows how to spell a word but my fingers may get it wrong. I do take notes alot, but mainly in plain text editors, not word processing software. Sometimes I may notice that something isn't spelled correctly, but I don't really care, not when it comes to personal notes. Only where it matters, like business documents, written communications with others. Or when typing commands. On a personal level, I'm not bothered by misspelling.

[pbear]

Sorry to have wasted your time. Won't happen again.

[Enigma83]

Sorry to have wasted your time. Won't happen again.

Don't worry about it, you didn't waste my time. I welcome input