The Way I Improved My Typing
By: Jack Robalino
Tags: Writing, Self Improvement, Typing, Skills, Personal Development

A guide to improve typing speed, technique, and the benefits that this skill can bring to your life.

Photo Source: Pixabay.com by linaberlin

There is a high chance that you own a pc, laptop, or know someone who does. In recent years they became one of the most common electronics in households all over the globe.

And what do all PCs and laptops come with? Exactly! A keyboard. The object that you use to search up stuff in google (or other web browsers). Perhaps, to message your friends and family through social media. Maybe, your job requires you to use one daily. No matter the context. Having a good typing speed is a handy skill to know.

The Benefits of Being Fast With a Keyboard

You might not spend time into this without knowing the payoff. Right? So, let’s take a quick look. Shall we?

Saves You Time

This is a clear one. The faster you finish tying an essay, report, article, book, message, etc. The more free time you’ll have to focus on other activities. Throughout high school I used to type with my index fingers. Every now and then I used my thumbs to speed things up. It used to take me around an hour and a half or more to type an essay (not counting research time).

But, after I started to practice and hone my typing, I saw a notable change. It felt more natural to type with all my fingers. I finished my work sooner which gave me extra time to revise it or to do something else.

2. It Might Help You To Land a Job

In the past when offices were introduced to the marvelous typing machines. They were looking for people that would use them efficiently. So, what they did was to hold typing competitions. The participants needed to be fast. And when I am saying fast is fast, fast. They had to be able to type at a speed of around 75 WPM or faster. And the ones with the best speed and lower grammatical errors won the positions.

Today, being able to type fast might not be the only purpose of a job. But, bringing up this skill, will immediately make you more valuable than the competition.

3. You Will Become More Familiar With Your Keyboard

It was very common for me to look down to the keyboard to know where I had to put my index finger on to press the right key. This took away my attention from the screen while typing. Thus, grammatical errors arise, which I had to fix later when revising my work.

From keybr.com

As I learned the proper finger placement on the keyboard. I assigned every finger to certain keys as I practiced. Eventually I stopped looking down. I still don’t know the placement of every key. But, I do know the location of all the letters and other important keys like space, caps, period, coma, and backspace. If I could do that, you as well. Perhaps even better than I.

How to Improve Your Typing

From keybr.com My Personal Stats

I personally use this website to practice my typing. It provides many tools and settings to personalize your lessons. I find it very user friendly and easy to start with. First I started by learning the proper placement for each one of my fingers. Then, I gradually learned to type every letter gradually. I had to master every key before moving to the next one.

If you want to make things more challenging, you can provide your own text by going to settings. Then, go to Advanced Mode and click at ‘Provide your own custom text’. There you can copy or type your own text to practice with. I usually copy an article, instead of reading by itself. I type it, which allows me to both read and hone my skill.

Perhaps, you are a competitive lady or gentlemen. Luckily you can participate in a multiplayer typing competition with real people (up to four) from all over the world. At first, it might be challenging if you are a total beginner. As you will have to use punctuation and caps to type a sentence or phrase as fast and with less error as possible. If you love to challenge yourself I highly recommend you to try the multiplayer. I love to find someone with a similar speed as myself, and to struggle to see who can beat the other.

From keybr.com, when I won a multiplayer match.

Conclusion

In the end, honing your typing speed can be very handy to save you time, become more familiar with your keyboard, and might improve your chances of getting a job. It will always be a good idea to increase your skill toolbox.

There are plenty of resources out there at your disposal. You don’t necessarily need to use the website I provided to you. Who knows, maybe there is a typing beast dwelling in you. Waiting just for its time to shine.

So, what are you waiting for?