Question how do i use a colon without holding shift?

Depends on your keyboard, and you've given zero details. On my Dell laptop the colon is to the right of the L key, and I don't have to hold down the shift key to use it. On my Android tablet I have to press the ?123 key and then the colon is 2 lines below the 8 key where I don't have to hold down the shift key to use it.