In the developer community, there's a common saying: "I'm not limited by my typing speed, I'm limited by how fast I can think." While this sounds smart, it misses a crucial point about how our brains work.
Reducing the Gap Between Thought and Action
When you have a brilliant idea for a function or a bug fix, you want to get it into the editor as fast as possible. If your typing is slow, you spend extra mental energy on the "mechanics" of coding, which can actually cause you to lose your train of thought.
Command Line Proficiency
Developers spend a lot of time in the terminal. Being able to type complex commands and directory paths quickly and accurately makes you feel much more connected to your machine. It turns the keyboard into an extension of your mind.
The "Flow" of Refactoring
Refactoring code involves a lot of small, repetitive changes. If you type at 80+ WPM, you can refactor an entire file in minutes. If you're at 30 WPM, you might hesitate to make those improvements because they feel "too tedious."
Health and Longevity
Fast, efficient typists usually have better technique. By learning to touch type and reducing wasted hand movements, you're also protecting yourself against RSI and other injuries that can end a developer's career early.