Due to the cable on my gaming mouse dying, I am currently using an ambidextrous mouse that isn't nearly as comfortable. Combined with the bizarre way in which I type, I am now putting an awful lot of strain on my right index finger. While touch typing involves using all of your fingers to cover the entire keyboard, I use my right index finger to cover just over half the keyboard, leaving my left hand to add in letters that are just too far for my right hand to reach. I also type at around 80wpm, going up to 100wpm at full speed. Given that my poor finger is doing most of the work, my joints are not too happy with me at the moment.
To take some of the load off, I decided to learn to touch type properly. This is currently not working too well, as I am now typing at around 15wpm. It is also incredibly frustrating to be forced to type at a much slower speed than I am used to, so I keep finding myself reverting to my old method, but switching in my middle finger. This isn't ideal either, as I will just end up putting too much strain on a different joint. It seems that I have muscle memory in my whole right hand, enabling me to type with any one of my fingers in addition to using my left hand. I've been typing like this for over 10 years now, so this is a pretty difficult habit to break.
I am going to keep on practising touch typing and hopefully I can get up to at least half of my original typing speed by the end of next week...and then in May I will be sent a replacement for my mouse so I will have significantly reduced the stress on my finger. I am fairly sure it's the combination of using this old mouse and my unusual typing style that has led to the joint pain, so eliminating at least one of the factors will hopefully be enough. I don't really want to do myself any permanent damage, especially as I play guitar and piano, so if I can get my touch typing speed up (to speed...heh) I'll be a lot happier.
In other news, I've been quiet since I was away visiting family in NYC and Kansas. It was good fun and really great to meet some cousins closer to my age. Since I've returned to Bristol I have played many board games and I am getting through my list of tasks to do.
