5 Reasons Why Writers Should Use a Mechanical Keyboard
Making Writing More Enjoyable
I spent a year before University at an Engineering company, I worked as a Mechanical Designer but was surrounded by programmers in the office.
They were a funny bunch. You could hear them long before you could see them.
The noise certainly wasn’t them chatting, it was the sound of 15 mechanical keyboards clicking and clacking with the furious fingers of a caffeine-powered programmer.
You can speak to pretty much any programmer and they will swear by their mechanical, noisy, blinged-out keyboards and tell you why you’re silly for using your company issue one.
Mechanical Keyboards have a whole host of benefits over ‘normal keyboards’ and I think they benefit writers just as much as programmers.
1. Power of delight
I’ve always said,
Invest your money where you want to invest your time
You could go two ways. Say you invest in a new couch. You’re going to want to spend more time, well, couching. Invest in a work tool — you will want to spend more time working.
This keyboard makes me want to type. I am much less effective on my laptop keyboard, not because it’s worse, but because I don’t love it.
There also the benefit that you can build a board yourself pretty easily. You need to know how to solder, but that’s quick to learn. Having something you made yourself is always a joy.
2. Measure, the longevity of an investment
As I wrote about in my post ‘The Theory of Measure”, the value of a purchase can be quantified in two factors. It’s ‘Magnitude’ (the immediate value it brings), and the ‘Measure’ which is the period over which that magnitude acts.
A keyboard is a very ‘high-measure’ item.
MX key switches are rated for 50 million keypresses and so the limiting factor of the board will most likely be the USB standard, not the board itself.
Being modular, it’s really easy to replace any broken part and change it if you fancy.
3. Ergonomics
You can also optimise your decisions for the ergonomics. Ergonomic keyboards have had a huge rise in popularity over the past decade — with more people spending more time typing.
According to the NHS, RSI is best treated by prevention and the right ergonomic keyboard is a very good way to do that without slowing your work down.
There are companies like Ergodox that specialise in extremely adjustable keyboards.
This allows the user to move their hands further apart and also allows the angling to find a more neutral position for your hands to rest.
We have become very used to laptop-style keyboards. They have very little travel and very severe bottom-out. They can be either mushy or harsh to type on.
I understand why it’s happened, laptops can’t be as thin and light as they are with thick, mechanical keyboards in them but it does result in a reduced typing experience.
4. Tailor it to you
You can customise and change pretty much anything about mechanical keyboards. Size, switches and keycaps.
If you’re a numbers person, you can go full-size to utilise the number-pad. If you’re a writer, go smaller to reduce strain on your wrists and save desk space.
This iQuinix board(non-affiliate) is a compact full-size board. For those who use that number pad lots.
It shows the sort of colour combinations you can have, the keyboard community is pretty adventurous with its’s design choices.
The other end of the scale is where my board lands. I have a 60%, where all keys are close to where your hands are. You also get more mouse-space.
This is my board. I took a long time to select the switches, keycaps and the case. It’s small (you can see the lack of home keys and number-pad), weighty and a dream to type on. It’s also pretty quiet.
KBDFans (non-affiliate) is a great place to look for all of the options when it comes to mechanical keyboards.
Let me run you through it.
This is a mechanical switch. When you press it — the metal contacts actuate a key-press. You can get them in a couple of varieties. Red, Brown and Blue.
- Blue — Clicky Switches
Blue switches have a tactile bump and a sharp, audible click. These are normally used by typists to give the audible feedback so you know when you have completed the keystroke.
They are loud though, so normally reserved for those with a home office or work on their own.
- Brown — Tactile Switches
Browns are often the middle-ground between Blues and Reds. They have the tactile bump, but no audible click. It’s a bit like the power button on your phone, you feel it but don’t hear it.
This is all completely subjective, but I find them a little scratchy. I’m more partial to a smoother-quieter switch.
- Red — Linear Switches
Reds are my favourite. They have no tactile bump and no click. You hear the clack of them bottoming out, so still feel and sound great. They are really smooth though, so it feels like the switches glide.
You can also lubricate them for an even smoother experience and keep the people in the office happier, too.
If you don’t know which you will like, you can purchase a switch tester from most keyboard stores. It’s a plate with about 20 different switches on, so you can find your ideal.
Tip for Writers — I would say go for linears (Reds), they are easier on your hands if you’re typing for long periods of time. You can also get variants with firmer or softer springs, allowing you to tailor the amount of force needed to bottom-out the switch. It’s often overlooked, but an important factor.
You can also get silent versions of most switches that are ever-so-slightly mushier but much more office-friendly.
I went for Gateron Yellows, similar to Cherry MX Reds — but with slightly stiffer spring.
5. They allow you to reprogram keys
Having a keyboard that is suited to you speeds up your typing and reduces the number of key presses needed to do the things you do most.
The best example I can find is the backslash key (or ‘Pipe Key’) on my board.
This is normally used by programmers, which I’m not, so I have replaced it with delete. A key that I use far more.
I also have a strange layout on my board as I am a bad typist and only use my left-shift. So the right-shift is small to save space, allowing me to cram an arrow cluster into a smaller board.
I also don’t use Caps Lock, so I have replaced it with Command, allowing me to use my little finger to reduce strain in my hand when using keyboard shortcuts.
The programming is very easy to change, there are lots of different programs you can use to do this. Meaning that if you change roles or your use of the keyboard — the keyboard can change with you.
For a writer, there are not many more important tools than your keyboard. Give it some consideration and see if a mechanical keyboard will work well for you.
Let me know what you think, or if you have any questions.
