Productivity hint #2: Don't move your hands!

This one is simple, but important.

To move the cursor left, right, up and down, use C-b, f, p and n respectively.
Page down: C-v
Page up: M-v
Beginning of line: C-a
End of line: C-e

See the point (no pun intended)? Don't move your wrists!

Everytime you do, you waste a little time repositioning your fingers. You may be thinking that the amount of time wasted this way is very small. Well, I disagree. Sure, moving your hand takes only a few tenths of a second, but programmers need to reposition the cursor and scroll up and down ridiculously often.

I'm really surprised to see how many otherwise fast typers haven't taken the time to learn these shortcuts. Really, it's easier than you think, especially because you use these commands all the time. Getting used to the new shortcuts should take you a few hours of determination, at most.