---
title: Fitts's Law And Movement Time
date: 2025-09-26T00:00:00
author: Charlie M.
category: SIGNAL
---
So, I was sitting there, phone in hand, just mindlessly scrolling through Instagram again. The sun was streaming in through the window, and I had that weird, nagging feeling like I should be doing something else—something more, I don't know, productive? But there I was, sucked into the endless loop of likes and comments. Have you ever noticed how your finger almost knows exactly where to go on the screen? Like, without even thinking about it, swipe left, tap right, scroll up, down. So many moves in one fluid motion. It got me thinking about this thing I read about a while back—Fitts's Law, I think it’s called?
Okay, so Fitts’s Law talks about movement time. It’s this idea, I think from the 50s or something, about how quick we can point or click at targets. The law factors in the size of the target and distance to it. I think it says something like the further away and smaller the thing is, the longer it takes to move your hand to it. Seems obvious, but it’s like, actually this big deal in design and ergonomics or something. I guess that’s why buttons on websites are big and easy to click? Though sometimes they’re not, and then I just rage-quit. Why don’t they just make them all big and easy? Maybe I’m missing something.
So anyway, as I’m trying to get myself to actually absorb this Fitts’s Law stuff, my brain’s like, “Hey, remember last week when you tried learning guitar again?” I thought, yeah, isn’t this kind of like figuring out where your fingers go on the strings? It’s all about movement time and getting faster, but I never seem to stick with it long enough to get past the awkward, fumbling phase. Why is it easier to scroll Instagram like a pro than play "Smoke on the Water"? Maybe I was just impatient or maybe I didn’t practice enough, but there’s that nagging feeling again—like I’m not good at sticking to things that need more time.
Also, does Fitts’s Law mean I can actually get better at something just by practicing the movements? Like, is it all just muscle memory, or is there more to it? I don’t know. I mean, they say practice makes perfect, but also, what about all the times I’ve tried deleting these apps to be more productive? I can never stick to that either. A part of me always thinks, maybe if I practiced deleting apps more often, that’d be a different kind of mastery. But then, maybe I’d just end up re-downloading them. There’s something about the chase—the digital chase, like how quick and precise can I be with my finger-flicks?
Anyway, I don't really know what any of this means. Does knowing about Fitts’s Law change the way I interact with my phone, or make me better at anything? Maybe. Maybe not. It probably depends on more than just that law, and more than just me. Or maybe it’s just an excuse I’m using to procrastinate from what I really need to be doing, like writing this blog post.
And now the sun’s started setting, casting these long shadows on my wall, and I’m still here, still wondering if there’s something I should be clicking on instead. If only it was as easy as scrolling, but maybe that’s my problem. Too many questions, not enough answers. That’s life, right?