Type Extremely Fast on a Keyboard

If you hunt and peck out letters when you type, your typing speed is suffering. To type quickly, you first need to learn the right technique. Touch typing is a typing technique where you type by feel rather than searching for the keys by sight. With some practice and a few tips, you'll be using touch typing to type extremely fast in no time.

Steps

Learning to Touch Type

1. Find the right posture. Your fingers should curve over the keys with your wrists lightly resting on the desk. In other words, don't put too much pressure on your wrists. Sit up straight with your elbows bent. Correct posture helps you to be more accurate, but it also helps lessen strain on your arms, hands, and shoulders over time.
2. Learn or relearn the finger positions. When at rest, your four fingers on each hand rest on certain keys, called the home row or base position. Your left hand fingers should rest on the keys A, S, D, and F, starting with the pinky on the A, while your right hand fingers should rest on J, K, L, and ;, starting with your pointer finger on the J. By keeping your fingers on these home keys when you are resting, you always know where all the letters are. Additionally, it is easy to reach most of the letters on the keyboard from this position.
   • If you already type using all your fingers, make sure you're always landing on the right keys. If you aren't, practice returning to this position.
   • Most keyboards have a little raised bump on the "F" and "J" keys to help you return your fingers to the correct position without glancing down.
3. Know which finger types which letter. Basically, each finger types the diagonal that slants down to the right. For instance, the pinky on the left hand types the letters and number 1, Q, A, and Z, while the ring finger types 2, W, S, and X. Both pointer fingers also type the adjoining row in addition to their own row. For example, the right pointer finger types 7, U, J, and M, as well as 6, Y, H, and N.
4. Use your pinky to hit the "Shift" key. Usually, you use the pinky on the opposite hand of the letter you are typing. You also use your pinky to hit keys like the "Tab" key, the "Caps Lock, " and the "CTRL" key on the left side, as well as most of the punctuation keys, the "Backspace" key, and the arrow keys.
5. Keep at least one thumb on the space bar at all times. You should never have to take both hands off of the space bar at the same time. Keeping a thumb on the space bar means you do not have to shift your hands around to create a space between words, saving you time.

Practicing New Skills

1. Begin by practicing individual letters. Try typing the alphabet in order to get a feel for where the letters are. Once you've done it a few times while looking at the keyboard, try doing it without looking.
2. Move up to words and sentences. Use a favorite poem you have memorized, or try typing the lyrics to your favorite song.
3. Practice on set texts. For instance, trying using pangrams such as "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." A pangram is a sentence or phrase that has all letters of the alphabet; therefore, it is useful for tasks like typing, since it requires you to type all the letters.
4. Practice with your everyday tasks. If you're typing an email, try to avoid the hunt-and-peck method. Challenge yourself to use all your fingers. Once you become more proficient, do it without looking. It may take you longer, but it will help you learn how to type better in the long run.
   • Always be sure to check your email for mistakes after practicing your technique. You are going to make mistakes as you learn, but you can quickly fix them before sending it off.
5. Use a type-and-learn program focused on developing technique. These programs make learning the proper technique a game, encouraging you to keep learning.
6. Keep a steady pace, rather than trying fast bursts on familiar words. As you're learning, periodically slow down and spend a few minutes practicing with an even rhythm, using one beat per letter. Practicing a steady rhythm helps build the muscle memory that you will need when you type faster.
7. Check for technique. If you keep making the same mistake when typing certain words or letter combinations, check your hand position to see if its correct. Also, look at the tension in your fingers. You might be accidentally bearing down on a letter or the space bar while striking another key.
8. Be patient. It takes time to learn to type. It can take awhile to build up your typing speed.

Increasing Speed

1. Avoid looking at the keyboard. Looking at the keyboard slows you down, as it stops your muscle memory from taking over. If you feel the need to look down at the keyboard, try to limit it to when you are starting a sentence to check for finger position
2. Use typing programs that specifically target speed. For instance, Rapid Typing Tutor is a program designed with multiple levels to help increase your speed over time.
3. Type more often. Practice regularly to build up your muscle memory, as muscle memory is what makes you faster.
4. Use online chatting or messaging services. By trying to keep up with a typed conversation, you will increase your speed over time.
5. Type lightly. That is, the harder you press on the keys, the more time it takes for you to type each letter. Most keyboards are fairly sensitive, so you only need to press the keys lightly. As an added bonus, typing lighter will help save your hands from getting so tired.
6. Remember to keep up proper posture. The proper posture will continue to increase your speed, especially wrist angle and rest.
7. Practice your technique. Even if you feel like you have it down, it never hurts to revisit the technique to ensure you are doing everything properly.

Tips

• Use all your fingers, not just one or two.
• Remember that it takes just as long to hit the right key as the wrong one.
• Check out cool websites that provide typing contests and games. Search for such terms as: "Type fast games" and "Test your typing speed ".

Warnings

• If your hands begin to hurt, take a break. Rest helps with hand strain.
• Take it slowly. If you haven't used a computer much, only practice for a limited amount of time each day.

Related Articles

• Type With a Virtual Keyboard
• Ten Key
• Check Typing Speed Online

Sources and Citations

See also

• Type Vietnamese
• Type Faster
• Type
• Improve Typing Speed
• Put Accents on Letters
• Teach Yourself to Touch Type
• Change a Typewriter Ribbon
• Type With a Virtual Keyboard
• Use a Typewriter
• Switch to a Dvorak Keyboard Layout

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