It's not my writing that's atrocious but my spelling that is terrible. I type very very fast but at time it's not that I type fast it's just that my brain seems to be royally scattered.

I know the difference between knew and new, your and you're, were and we're so why is that I know what I'm thinking but when I type it I spell it wrong and then I don't notice until after I've posted something and have to edit my post or article or worst have to hear it from a reader (it's bawling not ballin, yeah I new that, I mean knew that)

Does anybody know of an exercise I can do to stop making these stupid, careless mistakes?

BTW, I'm sure this message still has typos or thinkos (when you meant to say something but said something else).

I would suggest proofreading immediately after you finish typing the article, then proofreading it again a few days later. It also helps if you proof it one more time the day before it posts. When you allow days to pass in between proofreading your work, your ability to see your own mess-ups is sharper.

If you really want to be sure, have someone else proof it for you. When you read it yourself, your mind knows what you meant to type and that is what it tends to see. I've had others proof my writing before and I was thoroughly embarrassed at the stupid mistakes that were found - mistakes I knew better than to make.

You are not the only one who makes careless mistakes when typing. I am also guilty of it (as I'm sure you all have discovered). I don't know of any exercise to help you stop making careless mistakes. If you find one, be sure and let me know about it!

Thanks Lisa, I will definitely stick a note to my screen that says proof twice and then again! I usually on do it once. I have a cool book on mental exercise. I will look through it to see if I can find any exercises in there.

Herbs can help with the mind. Gingko Biloba, Rosemary, Gotu Kola, and Bacopin are just a few herbs that help with brain functioning (focus, retention, memory).

Often, when I am writing, my brain is going much faster than my hands and I make a lot of mistakes. Herbal teas help me to find a balance.

My computer underlines spelling errors in everything I type, so that helps me a lot.

Oh! - another thing that helps me is an exercise for the brain. When I am really into a heavy writing session, I take breaks when I can and play games on the computer that help my brain to work faster. Mahjong, Bubble Element, matching games - they help my brain to function better.

Thanks so much for all the ideas Phyllis. Those sound great. I will try all those over the next couple of days.

I really like the playing games idea. I don't usually do that but sounds like fun.

Lumosity.com has courses in brain training. They have games designed by scientists they say. I do not know if they charge for the courses. I just read the home page and did not enroll.

There, their now -- you will be just fine -- just bare bear with it.

Miss. m. I like that term "thinko's". I would say when I am thinking and typing and my mind has erased and replaced text, but my fingers did not go back and correct all of the "extra" words....lol...do that ALL the time.

Diane read my mind - I like that term too - "thinko's." Ha! I definitely have days when my mind is doing it's own thing. I like the idea of stepping away and reading another time. Also, do u have someone to proofread for you? Or can you read aloud to someone else? For me, reading aloud (to myself) is the key. When I say the words aloud, I usually notice - hey/hay that's knot/not what I meant/mint.

This is fun! We should make this into some kind of game...

When you are reading to proof, read it outline word by word, sometimes you can catch those little grammatical errors and "wrong word" errors more easily that way.

Reading it out loud/aloud sounds good too, will try it. Thanks for all the input everybody!!