How to Type Faster

Becoming a faster typist is not difficult, but because computers and other digital devices are everywhere, few people nowadays learn typing using a proper technique. Most people have a general sense of where the keys are located, but the only way to gain speed is to do exercises that build on technique.

How to Type Faster

The keyboard found on almost all computers is called the Qwerty keyboard, named after the first six letters at the top of the 3 rows of letters.

• In order to type properly and efficiently, you must line up your all eight of your non-thumb fingers in the middle row. Your left fingers should be on A, S, D, and F, while your right ones should be on J, K, L, and the semi-colon.
• Positioning also matters. Your hands should not touch the desk or platform your keyboard is sitting on (unless you use a laptop). Try not bending your wrists, keeping a horizontal position of your hand.
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• Buy a proper keyboard. While many people think this is not an important aspect, there are specific keyboards for each type of activity. A mechanical keyboard is a tremendous help in regard to your typing performance, not only in speed, but it will also help you avoid mistyping words.
• Exercise regularly. A good example would be replicating paragraphs in a given amount of time. Open a timer and start writing an excerpt from one of your books. Don’t be afraid to repeat the process on the same one. You will eventually become more correct on typing certain words faster.
• Websites come to your help! A good example is typeracer.com. This lets you compete with other users in real time. You can find a lot of different websites and tools on Google.
• Don’t look at your keyboard. While this sounds stupid, it is one of the best experiments you can try. If you learn the positioning of each key, you won’t need to look at them every time you type. The process will come naturally and will allow you to type while reading other texts.

Conclusion

There are countless apps for Windows and Mac that can help you learn how to type faster. These are great, but remember if you don’t practice, you get faster. Another idea for increasing speed is to dictate and record your thoughts when you have to write up a report or paper and then type it.

That way, you’re focusing on typing and not getting caught up on composing your thoughts and hunting and pecking for keys at the same time. Despite the fact that computers are everywhere today, an accomplished typist is as rare as ever.