Five Tips To Improve Your Typing Speed

Though typing used to just be a hobby, for the most part, having the ability to type with perfect accuracy and a high rate of speed is one of the most desired skills available these days. The average person types at about 40 words per minute. That certainly isn’t slow, but experts say that people should be typing around 70 words per minute to increase their productivity.

Whether you’re someone that’s attempting to get above the average words per minute mark or already an expert that’s looking to finetune your skills, there are certain ways to improve your typing speed. Follow these five tips and you’ll see your words per minute increase in no time!

Maintain proper posture.

One of the tips to help you reach your goal of typing at a faster and more efficient pace is one that is sure to improve your skills almost immediately. Maintaining proper body posture is the foundation for ensuring your typing speed improves. 

For proper posture, you’ll want to keep your shoulders relaxed, your feet flat on the floor, and sit upright in a chair that allows your spine to retain its natural curve. Doing this will keep you comfortable longer, help you feel more attentive, and keep your arms and hands in the best placement possible for more fluid movements and increased typing speed. 

Proper finger placement.

Along with posture, finger placement is a hugely important helpful step to improving your typing speed. You’ll want to start by keeping your hands by the base of the keyboard to keep them from tiring too quickly, while still being close enough to reach the keys with ease. Next, you’ll want to memorize the keys on which to rest your fingers. 

Your left pinky finger should rest on the A key, your left ring finger on the S key, your left middle finger on the D key, left pointer finger on the F key. Your right pinky finger should be on the semi-colon key, right ring finger on the L key, right middle finger on the K key, right pointer finger on the J key, and both thumbs should be resting on the space bar, or hovering above. When typing, try to only use the fingers nearby the keys needed. It will help to keep correct finger placement and minimize unnecessary movements that slow you down. 

Don’t look down at the keyboard.

A pretty simple, but useful tip is to keep your eyes on the screen and don’t look down at your keyboard. Looking down at the keys takes up time, slows you down, and keeps you distracted from the screen and task in front of you. It sounds silly, but try closing your eyes, or blindfolding yourself while typing out a few sentences and see how long it takes you to get the hang of speeding up your typing while keeping your eyes off the keyboard. 

Practice typing words and phrases that use a variety of letters.

A helpful tool for improving typing accuracy and speed is practicing typing words and phrases that use a variety of letters, therefore, a variety of keys. Doing so will enable you to develop muscle memory for a more comfortable and easy style of typing. As well as increasing your overall speed and confidence in using the correct fingers for the variety of keys. 

Type slowly and get used to the feel of the keyboard before speeding up.

Although increasing your speed is the main objective here, you’ll want to first familiarize yourself with the keyboard before you focus on speed. Try the previously mentioned tips of proper posture and finger placement, but instead of aiming for speed you can get used to the feel of the keys and typing slowly to work on accuracy.