Let Your Fingers Do The Typing

I spend more time typing than handwriting. I've been using word processors since at least 4th grade, so I'm pretty comfortable with a keyboard and have developed a pretty strong muscle memory because of it.

I know where the keys are on the keyboard. I remember the first time I realized that I could type without looking at the keys (I still do look at the keys, but that's more of a hand-eye coordination thing). I am not only comfortable with finding individual keys, but I am comfortable with key combinations, too.

There are a lot of common words out there, words I probably type every day. Because of that, my fingers move from key to key without really thinking about it. Typing is nearly as fluent and thoughtless as walking. I do not have to think about the typing itself, just coming up with the words that I wish to type.

Sometimes, though, my mind and my body are not in sync. Sometimes I am composing a sentence in my head, but my hands are typing the word behind what I am thinking. When I am cognizant of it, it trips me up. I have to halt my thoughts in order to catch up physically. Then I can work in tandem.

The important point, though, is that, when I am on autopilot, I get by just fine. I don't think about the spelling of words. I don't think about where in the sentence I am. I just compose it and my body takes the dictation.

If you are comfortable enough typing that you largely don't think about it, then don't think about it. Let your fingers do the typing and let your brain do the thinking. When you trust everybody to do their jobs, then work gets done.