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How to improve touch typing

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What is touch typing Touch typing involves typing without looking at the keyboard, by relying on muscle memory and hand placement in order to find the necessary keys. Traditionally, touch typing involves placing the eight fingers (thumbs excluded) on the horizontal row in the middle part of the keyboard (the home row), with each finger responsible for pressing only a few keys, as shown below. The typing zones for each finger on a QWERTY keyboard. The keys on the home row are circled. The index fingers are placed on the F and J keys. The little fingers (pinkies) are usually responsible for clicking most modifier keys (e.g. ‘Ctrl’ and ‘Alt’), while the thumb is used to click the ‘Space’ key. Here, for example, we see that the right index finger is responsible for pressing the columns of keys from ‘6’ diagonally down to ‘N’ and from ‘7’ diagonally down to ‘M’. Note that most modern keyboards usually have a raised bar or a dot on the home keys of the index fingers (on the ‘F’ and ‘J’ keys
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5 Effective Tips to Improve Your Typing Skills

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The average typing speed is around 40 words per minute (WPM) or around 190-200 characters per minute. To give you an idea of how fast that is, consider this: a typical 13-year-old types at around 23 WPM while experienced secretaries average at 74 WPM. These numbers, though, are for typing in the English language only. For other languages, the average speeds vary because of the differences in the number of alphabets or the agglutinative nature of other languages. Also, these numbers only apply to the standard QWERTY keyboard, not the Dvorak or other purportedly more intuitive keyboard layouts that claim to make typing faster. You certainly wouldn’t want to be stuck at typing at a 13-year-old’s level especially now that computers have become important things in everyday modern life. You don’t necessarily have to aim for the speed of a secretary or professional typist. Typing at an above average speed of 50-60 WPM is a good enough goal and is not difficult to achieve. The following pointe
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Why Average Typing Speed Is Important?

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Average Typing Speed: Why It Is Important? Any information on typing always comes down to the same question: What are your average typing speed and your accuracy? Why is it so important, and why does everyone want to know? Below are a few facts about typing and hopefully, a few hints as to why average typing speed is so important. The Highest Typing Speed The fastest typist in the world was a woman named Barbara Blackburn. In 2005, using a Simplified Dvorak keyboard, she was able to sustain 150 words per minute for 50 minutes, and 170 words per minute for shorter amounts of time. She was even clocked at a peak speed of 212 words per minute. This is well above what a professional typist, using a QWERTY keyboard, will usually manage. 50 to 80 words per minute is around the average for professional typists and should be what most people strive for if they type for a living Average Typing Speed Statistics As a general rule, girls like to type more than boys. This may be for a variety of re
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How To Rule Touch Typing

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Typing zones on a QWERTY keyboard for each finger taken from KTouch (home row keys are circled) Main article: Touch typing The basic technique stands in contrast to hunt and peck typing in which the typist keeps their eyes on the source copy at all times. Touch typing also involves the use of the home row method, where typists keep their wrists up, rather than resting them on a desk or keyboard (which can cause carpal tunnel syndrome). To avoid this, typists should sit up tall, leaning slightly forward from the waist, place their feet flat on the floor in front of them with one foot slightly in front of the other, and keep their elbows close to their sides with forearms slanted slightly upward to the keyboard; fingers should be curved slightly and rest on the home row. Many touch typists also use keyboard shortcuts when typing on a computer. This allows them to edit their document without having to take their hands off the keyboard to use a mouse. An example of a keyboard shortcut is p
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Should you change your keyboard layout?

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Getting yourself a good ergonomic keyboard is an easy way to increase your typing speed and keep your hands healthy, without requiring much effort on your part. There are two main signs that you need a new keyboard: You feel that your current keyboard is slowing you down. For example, this might happen if the keyboard is not be responsive enough, or if the keys are too small. You feel that your current keyboard is causing you to strain your hands. For example, this might happen if the keyboard causes you to press keys with a lot of force, or if the keys are placed too close to each other. A common scenario where you might need a new keyboard is if you spend a lot of time working on a laptop, and using the laptop’s built-in keyboard, since the default keyboards that come with most laptops are uncomfortable to type on, and end up slowing you down. Which keyboard is the best one to buy depends on factors such as your personal preference and hand size, so there isn’t one type of keyboard t
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How to improve your typing technique

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Use a light touch when typing When you’re typing, try to use the minimal amount of force which is necessary in order to press each key. Don’t strike the keys harder than you need to, since this can reduce your typing speed, and increase the stress that your hands experience while typing. Remember that even though the difference between a light keystroke and a strong one is relatively minor, it adds up significantly over time.   Avoid moving your hands around Try to keep your hands relatively static while you’re typing. Moving them around too much causes you to slow down and tires out your hands. Note: later in the article, you will see a few ways to minimize how much your hands and fingers move while typing, including modifying your keyboard layout and learning how to touch type.   Be consistent in your typing patterns Try to be consistent with which fingers you use to press each key. In general, the greater your consistency, the faster you will type. You can ensure that you’re being c
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How to set up your workspace properly

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Setting up your workspace properly is crucial, since it’s something that’s relatively easy to do, and which can help you type faster, feel more comfortable, and avoid most health issues.   How to position your keyboard There are several things to remember with regard to how your keyboard should be placed: Make sure to place the keyboard so that you are centered on the lettered part. Many people center themselves against the full keyboard, including the number pad (which is usually on the right). However, since people mostly use the letters while typing, and only rarely use the number-pad, doing this causes you to work with your body or hands slightly twisted toward the lettered part, which places unnecessary strain on your body. The keyboard should be placed at a height and distance that allows you to keep your elbows at a 90° angle (or at an angle that is slightly greater than that). This reduces the strain on your body, and encourages the use of good posture overall. The keyboard sho
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