How I Use A Mouse

One of the things I’ve noticed over the years is that I tend to use mice slightly differently to everyone else I have worked with. I’m sure other people use mice in the same way, I’ve just not met any of them yet. I’ll try to explain how it works…

Most people tend to use their mice to the right of the keyboard. This is the way that the ‘instructions’ that come with computers suggest, and this is the layout that advertising material tends to show. Totally normal.

This makes sense because normally, when the user moves the mouse up on the desk, the cursor moves up on the screen. Obvious really.

I actually hold my mouse at a -90 degree angle to the way it is normally held. When I move the mouse to the left on the desk (though still up form the mouse’s point of view) the cursor moves up on the screen.

As you can see here, having the mouse in front of the keyboard means I can move my hand there faster than if I moved it to the right of the keyboard, by pivoting on my elbow.

When I’m not typing, I can actually have my arms folded while using the mouse. I find this very comfortable. I’m not sure when I started doing it, but I remember doing it around 2005, and I’ve always done it since.

Does anyone else do this?