The iPad as a Writer Tool. Solving the typing issue

When I got my iPad a little over a year ago, my plan was to use it for my writer career, and to eliminate the need to carry my MacBook most of the time. At the beginning that failed, I was using my iPad extensively, but the typing on the screen was painful for me. I got the external keyboard, but carrying the iPad and the expernal keyboard only give me the advantage of the great battery life. I begin looking for a better solution, before one of my good frineds told me that I need it to learn to type on that thing.
I most clarify, that he is also a Writer, so even that I tough he was crazy, I stop an listen. Apparently I was not the only one with this issue of typing. I can type 70wpm (Words per Minute) on a physical keyboard. If you don’t know how much you can type, you can go to places like this one an do a free test, the result may surprise you. For a Writer, words per minute is an essential skill. If you type for two hours a day at 20wpm you end up with 2,400 words, if you do 70wpm you will end up with 8,400 words. So the difference in the Writer work, that is mostly measure in wpm, is significant.
The problem was I was typing less than 20wpm in the iPad, no wonder was a pain, that was 50wpm less than a physical one. I went to the AppStore and got a app to learn to type. Was that or get rid of the iPad, at least as a Writer tool. Did I mention that I love the thing.
Two weeks later, I am typing over 40wpm, I am slower, and make more mistakes than in a physical keyboard, but is improving to the point that isn’t as painful as it was before, and the improvement is giving me hope, that I am going to be able to reach the same level I do on a physical keyboard soon.
The iPad had get to be my main machine, more and more. Now that I am learning to type on it again, is getting closer to be a better writing tool than before. How fast are you typing? Did you learn to type in yours?

Join our email list to receive occasional messages! Your emails are never shared, sold or spammed by us.

Published by

Augusto Pinaud

Augusto Pinaud es Coach de Tecnología de Productividad Bilingüe, Especialista en Nozbe Teams. Augusto trabaja con dueños y gerentes de pequeñas empresas, ejecutivos y profesionales en productividad, tecnología y mejora de procesos utilizando una variedad de tecnologías de productividad.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.