Why not use your left hand?

Do you use your left or right hand when at your computer? This is a question I never thought I’d write. I have carefully chosen the words to minimise the opportunities to misconstrue the question, while hopefully raising some interest in what follows?

Realistically very few of us have asked the longer version of this question. Why, because we intuitively do things in particular ways that make sense to us. We often don’t think there is another or better way to do the same thing. When given a computer mouse, most of us will automatically use our right hand to operate it. Why?

Right hand is the right hand

70 to 90% of the world is right-handed. Thankfully the world is now more accommodating to lefties, rather than insisting they should only use designs optimised for righties. But with an external computer mouse, you have complete choice as to which hand to use and which side of the laptop to put it.

What of the internal laptop mouse-pad? The next time you’re ‘strategising’ in a coffee shop or at work, have a look around (without staring) and you’ll see most laptop users still using their right hand to predominantly operate that pad.

We use our dominant hand, because we know it has the better fine motor skills to control the mouse on the screen. For those of us old enough to remember typewriters it was also the hand to use for the return carriage function! But should we today, having moved away from writing, use both?

Try left-handed computer mouse work

First off, it will be strange and you’ll need to practice. Remember early computer games were developed to improve computer mouse skills. It does have some benefits including:

• Reduced strain. If you always use your dominant hand, it’s always doing the work. Why not spread the strain? This could be quite literally for RSI.
• Skill development. The world is increasingly both-handed and the skills to move a mouse are not really that fine-motored on a laptop screen. Increased skill on the laptop transfers to the finer skills needed on a phone.
• Workstation layout. Ergonomically it might be better at your desk for the clear space for the mouse to be to the left of the laptop. A good example is for the on-line meeting where you want your writing hand free for notes, or to doodle, or when the need for open mikes prevents the constant keyboard thrum of note-taking. It enables most of us to be more present in the meeting.

Business Takeaway

Sometimes we need to question the accepted in order to make small gains to improve efficiency and reduce stress. Simply put, using both hands, sharing the load, provides real benefits to the individual and to output.

Personal note. In the days of pcs, I always used my mouse lefthandedly, because phone interruptions and note-taking required use of my right. In the last month with repeated Team/Meet meetings, I found it difficult to take notes and turn mikes on and off through only using my right hand, so swopped. Bizarrely in typing this post, I, without knowing, have just caught myself in mid-action using the laptop mousepad and with my left hand! Something I would never normally do, but it was so natural. Thankfully I won’t write a fuller post on this!