How to Build Confidence as a Computer User

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I’m a geek and a tinkerer, but not much of a coder. While I used to actively code sites in high school and college, today I consider myself a power user. On an almost daily basis, I talk to people who are like most people — they have a general computer knowledge but are largely fearful of them, especially fearful of screwing something up.

Through these interactions, I’ve come to view these users in three basic categories:

• Lacking Confidence: These people need encouragement and to be stretched in their knowledge. Most average users I’ve met have fallen in this category. While explaining concepts may take a while, they really do want to understand how to use computers at least to the point where they aid in accomplishing daily tasks (My mom is one of these people; ten years ago I taught her the basics of Windows and she’s picked up the rest on her own). It’s rewarding to see the light bulb go off in these peoples’ heads as they become competent and confident.
• Willfully Ignorant: These people are almost proud that they know little to nothing about their computers. They lean on advanced users as if helpless and they make little attempt to grasp concepts as they are taught. This behavior soon exhausts the goodwill of all but the most patient advanced users.
• Explorative: This is the 20% group. Not all of these people become code ninjas or sysadmins, but they aren’t afraid to stretch themselves. They are consistently learning how to do things better and do a greater variety of tasks with their computers. These people range from the power user to development pioneers like David Heinemeier Hansson.

The only way to “help” the second group listed above is for them to change their attitude and cultivate a desire to learn. People in the first group are a pleasure to work with, they just need encouragement and prodding from time to time.

So, here’s my advice to el groupo uno: Tinker.

Computers probably feel like rocket science, but they aren’t. Maybe you want to get better at Word or Excel, or make your web browsing experience better (say, less popups and ads?). Or perhaps photo retouching is the next step so you can assemble the family scrapbook.

• Break down big concepts. Take what you want to learn and break the concepts down bit at a time. You can learn as you go. If you need help getting started, ask a power user friend. Believe me, we want to help (in fact we’re almost too enthusiastic to share).
• Test your assumptions. Don’t be afraid to screw something up. Click that icon, the one you have no idea what it does. There’s usually an ‘undo’ button (just remember the old adage; save early and often).
• Learn to take shortcuts. Find ways to do simple things like opening, saving, and printing without using the mouse and then move on to accomplishing bigger things the same way. No matter what program you are using, there’s likely a keyboard shortcut for most things you’ve always done by pointing and clicking. Lists of these commands are found in the help file under “keyboard shorcuts.” Do this and you’ll work faster and enjoy using your computer more.

Example: Editing Text
I edit what I write almost exclusively with the keyboard. Here are some common shortcuts to help:

• SHIFT + Arrow Keys highlights text from your cursor in the direction of the arrow you press.
• CTRL+SHIFT+Arrow Keys (Windows) or ALT+Shift+Arrow Keys (Mac) highlights in whole-word blocks.
• CTRL/CMD+X: Cut
• CTRL/CMD+C: Copy
• CTRL/CMD+V: Paste

You can do 90% of the editing necessary with these five simple keyboard commands. Use the first two to select your text, and the bottom three to manipulate it, just as you would with the Edit menu. Practice this and become proficient at it, and you’ll find yourself itching for other things you can do to make life easier using your keyboard.

I hope you find these tips helpful. I’m always up for sharing pointers on using computers (Windows or Mac), so don’t hesitate to ask if you have questions.

Happy Friday!