Some of the biggest hardware efficiency boosts we can get are either completely free, or nearly so. Sure, a maxed-out new laptop would be great to have, but these are tough times. If you spend a little time with the hardware you have or pick up some very inexpensive peripherals, you can immediately start working smarter. In this post, you’ll find five hardware devices and tweaks that you can put to work with good results almost immediately.
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New applications or enhancements to existing ones can provide big efficiency benefits, but there are also many simple tweaks, unsung tips, and new ways to think about the tools that you already use that can help you work better. In this post, I’ll share five ways that can help you accomplish more and experience less hassle. You can take advantage of many of these tips in minutes.
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I don’t know how many different pointing devices I’ve gone through in the past 25 years, but it’s a lot. In part, this is because I find that one of the easiest ways to avoid RSI is to switch keyboards and pointing devices from time to time, giving new muscles a workout. Recently I switched to an Evoluent VerticalMouse, and after a couple of weeks of use, I give it a definite thumbs up.
The VerticalMouse is a rather large (the picture shows it next to an Apple mouse for comparison) device that communicates with the computer via a dedicated wireless USB receiver. It has to be large because of its one special feature: it’s designed to grip with your hand rotated 90 degrees from what you probably think of as normal mousing position. Your thumb goes on the left side of the mouse, and your fingers on the right side, as if you were reaching out to shake someone’s hand (sorry, lefties, they don’t have a model for you). Evoluent’s marketing talks about this being an arm-neutral position; I just know it’s a comfortable one.
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OK, so you work on the web. That’s a given. But what are you doing when you work on the web? Most likely, interacting with some application on your computer. Now drill down one more level: are you using the mouse (or other pointing device) or the keyboard for most of that interaction? There’s the question that has the potential to bring users to blows.
I was reminded of this debate by a blog entry from Hank Williams, who was reacting to the recent launch of Ubiquity (which our sister blog OStatic covered). Ubiquity provides a very keyboard-oriented interface, though it includes some mouse affordances as well. After pointing out that keyboardists and mousers are different, he goes on to admit
Now don’t get me wrong, I am a fairly fast typist. But my problem is I can’t remember commands. Putting a keyboard command in my head is like putting sand in a sieve. The reason I love graphical interfaces is because I can’t remember shit.
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Web Work 101: How To Escape The Cubicle
