'Scuse Me While I Fuck Up This Keyboard

How you work is different from everyone else, so you should optimize for you and stop optimizing "by the rules"

This is part of my “Art of Noticing” series, in which I learn, find, or discover the things around me that usually go unnoticed and turn them into an endless source of creative inspiration.

Today, I noticed that I destroy keyboards so completely, I need to have spares on hand of just the right type. But that’s me, and it made me realize that MY creative environment is like nobody else’s.

My first official “writer keyboard” gave me and my unique environmental style (how I write, how hard I hit the keys, how my fingers move) so many problems, I literally cut the right side off of it with a saw.

Then I found a different kind that worked better, but I routinely destroyed keys on it. The intricate, watchmaker’s-steady-hands process to replace destroyed keys is nerve-wracking, so after enough of that on one keyboard, I’d replace the whole thing.

My keys had ended up all over the place. I’ll have a “Page Up” key where E should be. Stuff like that. And that’s for the keys I could still read. Often I’d need a letter, but wouldn’t know which one it was because all were blank — worn completely away. I’d have to pretend to type to figure out which was which, because my fingers knew even if I didn’t.

But that’s my environment. I destroy keys. We’re all unique, and we all need different creative tools in different setups to work best. That’s why one-size-fits-all creative advice usually sucks. It fails to account for the fact that all writers, as artists, are highly unique.

Here's how this "noticing" can influence my stories and art:

Adapting Tools to Suit Creative Needs

I have my own preferences for keyboard, software, and writing environment. I have to adapting them to suit my individual needs. You have different preferences and different needs. Just like finding the right keyboard can make typing more comfortable and efficient (just TRY giving me a keyboard with tall keys. I make so many mistakes), choosing tools that align with our creative style can streamline your own writing process. We want the mechanical parts easy, since the creative parts are so hard.

In addition to the actual tools, this also extends to our approach to time management, work routines, and the organization of our creative spaces. By customizing your own elements to fit your own workflow, you can create a more conducive environment for creativity and productivity. You know … where it’s a joy to work every day?

Ensuring Sustainability in Our Creative Practice

Heavy use of tools, like my experience with keyboards, really nods to sustainability. I know so many writers who burn out, emotionally or physically.

I don’t want that to happen to me, and that’s why I think so much about this kind of stuff. Not having to lift my fingers over tall keys may seem like a little thing, but I make that motion tens of thousands of times every day. Think it doesn’t add up? Think I won’t have a more sustainable future if I get things right, or that small changes won’t make a big difference?

I also use an ergonomic keyboard and a trackball. I have a standing desk. I walk when I think, instead of sitting here. Sustainability and health. The right tools for the job. Want a longer and better career? Those are some of the keys to having one.

Remember, acknowledging and accommodating our unique tools and unique habits is an essential part of the creative process. By optimizing our environment and practices with the right and most comfortable (and enjoyable!) tools, we’ll be better suited for the long run.

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