How to Improve Typing Speed
Learn How to Improve Your Typing Skills and Save Hours of Time
How to achieve normal typing speed and then exceed it? Many of us ask this question. Computers have become so commonplace that these days, it is difficult to find a person who wouldn’t type something for at least an hour daily. People do their homework, create work reports, write metas and exchange messages with the help of their keyboard all the time, but some of them manage to do it faster than others. So, how does that work, and what could you do to improve your situation?
What Is the Average Typing Speed?
Speed of typing is measured through WPM, which stands for ‘words per minute.’ It differs from person to person depending on how many fingers they use and what kind of work they’re doing. On average, people type 40-50 WPM. They use several strategies for achieving and surpassing this number. For example, if you’re looking for the best Chinese to English translator, you’re likely going to search for them online. In case you’re using two fingers for typing, it’ll take you about 25-30 seconds to formulate your request and click “search”. Sure, it doesn’t seem like much, but imagine how much time you could save if you shorten this time by half for all your online inquiries? Don’t be intimidated, it’s far easier than you think!
What Is a Fast Typing Speed?
You might be interested in learning what the highest typing speed is. One of the best-known official records is 212 WPM, but it was registered decades ago, and the woman who achieved this impressive number was using an electric typewriter. From the more recent events, a woman typed 256 WPM in a competitive game, and then another person showed a mind-blowing record of 265 WPM in 2019. These are amazing results, but naturally, achieving them is hardly possible. It’s also not practical since most of us have to think carefully before we type. So, how to increase WPM in a way that works for you in particular? It’s simple: simply follow these four pieces of advice.
- Use typing tests along with special training apps.
- Start using ten fingers when you are keyboarding.
- Keep practicing until you own the keyboard.
- Learn to relax even while keying stuff in busily.
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Recommendation #1: Use Training Apps
Fortunately, since many people are passionate about achieving the highest typing speed possible, there is an interest in software localization services, and in turn, there is a huge number of local and international training tools you could use for improving your results. Download them and use them offline or just open any online app whenever you want to test yourself. Choose a detailed tool that would show different important data. You should see how fast you’re typing per 60 seconds and how many mistakes were made. Expressing your thoughts quickly is great, but also make sure you do it fluently or it’ll be meaningless! Seeing your improvements day by day is very encouraging, and before you know it, your abilities will grow.
Recommendation #2: Improve Typing Speed By Using Ten Fingers
This is a very simple piece of advice, but many people are reluctant to follow it because they doubt its efficiency. It’s a mistake since there is a huge difference between keying in with two or ten fingers. Whether you’re searching for legal translation services or are working on a literature review, you can do it twice faster if you use the latter route. Place the index finger of your left hand on F and index finger of your right hand on K. This way, you’ll be able to reach all the keys. Work from there. Note that strict following of this rule isn’t needed, though! 10 finger typing could easily turn into 6 or 8 finger typing. Simply try using as many of them as feels comfortable to you, and sooner or later, you’ll find the ideal combination.
Recommendation #3: Practice, Practice, Practice
Practice is everything when it comes to typing because no theory is going to be enough by itself. Don’t overwhelm yourself, just make sure you type and practice speeding up daily. Look for next great stories to read at your average WPM, complete homework, check which Arabic translation services are reliable, write messages for your friends — do your normal daily activities, but in addition to them, spend at least 15 minutes daily on keyboarding tests. Work with 5-10 fingers. In a week, a month, a year, you’ll achieve incredible results. In many ways, typing doesn’t differ from other activities, and it can be improved vastly with consistent practice alone.
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Recommendation #4: Keep Your Body Relaxed When Typing
Can you relax when you’re keying something in? Many people can’t while for others, it comes as naturally as breathing. Relaxation is important since it ensures more effective work with keyboard. Here are some suggestions that could be helpful to you.
Achieve touch keyboarding. We all demonstrate different average typing speed by age, but only some of us succeed with touch typing. Once again, it comes with practice. This kind of typing means that a person can write without having to look at the keyboard. Their fingers instinctively know where they are supposed to move next, so they just fly from one corner to another while a typer’s eyes stay glued to a screen. Because of this, they avoid mistakes, can track where their own thought process flows, and work more quickly than those who do not possess this skill. When you don’t feel the obsessive need to stare at the keyboard, you’ll become far more relaxed.
Assume a comfortable position. When people just need to create a short message, it doesn’t matter in what position they are doing it. But when they are forced to sit in front of their laptop or PC for hours, the situation is drastically different. Typers must sit in a way that allows them to keep their wrists relaxed. Don’t overstrain them: if you do, your keying speed will decrease by a lot no matter how experienced you are. Resilience is just as important as speed and quality, so keep this in mind to improve your time management.
Do exercises for your fingers. When and if your hands start feeling sore, take a short break. Better yet, don’t let the situation go there: do special finger exercises at least once an hour. Look up effective techniques online — it’ll help to stay more active.
Learn hotkeys. For increasing keying speed, learn some Windows hotkeys. Copy stuff with Ctrl + C, paste it with Ctrl + V instead of doing redundant movements, etc.
Useful information: Find our Review of the best Hebrew translation services and choose the right one.
Increase the Number of Your Average Words Per Minute in Weeks
If you follow all the tips we’ve mentioned above, the speed of your WPM typing is going to grow very quickly. You’ll see the first palpable results in weeks already because every task you’re working on will suddenly start taking less time. The most important thing is that you don’t need to invest some hardcore efforts into this: just spend a few minutes on practicing tools, try to remember engaging all your fingers when using keyboard, and improvement will come rapidly. What’s a good typing speed for you? Find out by practicing and free your time!