It’s not that it’s bad, just that it could use some work, and with the increasingly digital world, I will probably be using it more and more. I also hope to start writing on a blog just to store thoughts and the like, so better typing skillz would help out a ton.
Any suggestions on how to improve my words per minute and accuracy?
The only thing that’s helped my typing speed and accuracy is more typing. Ever since I got a desk job where all I do is type trouble reports for a telecom company, my typing skills have greatly improved.
Just practice. Once the keys become second nature it just becomes how fast you can move your fingers
http://www.typingtest.com/ Try this site. It’s free and you can use it as much as you like. Just click on ‘start typing test’ and choose from the options there. I used to train all of the new people in an office I used to work in. If their typing skills were lacking, I’d get them to practice on this site.
Good luck to you. It’s just practice and repetition that make you faster and more accurate.
Play video games.
I’m joking for the most part, but I don’t know too many who type faster than me and I only use maybe 4 fingers. I just have good hand eye coordination. I even took a typing class in high school and avoided learning the technique they taught because my way was faster.
I do tend to have to look at the keyboard though.
So you guys don’t think that learning how to type using proper finger placement and all that jazz would improve my speed? I have a buddy that has “Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing” that I could probably use to retrain my hands, but if you don’t think it’s worth it, no sense in bothering.
As I said, I already type reasonably fast but like anything else, proper form is important in some places and not so much in others. Hell–even Tiger Woods had to take a couple years off to retrain his swing.
[quote]Fiction wrote:
So you guys don’t think that learning how to type using proper finger placement and all that jazz would improve my speed? I have a buddy that has “Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing” that I could probably use to retrain my hands, but if you don’t think it’s worth it, no sense in bothering.
As I said, I already type reasonably fast but like anything else, proper form is important in some places and not so much in others. Hell–even Tiger Woods had to take a couple years off to retrain his swing.[/quote]
I think learning proper technique will help SOME people…but again, there are those of us who are just able to see things quickly and react with manual precision. For those types, they should type in whatever way works.
That typing class didn’t work for me…because it made no sense to learn a technique when I was typing faster than the teacher.
http://www.typeonline.co.uk/typingspeed.php
I like this site.
Having good form is important for me at work or else my wrist will bother me
POWERCLEAN!
I had some spare time at work when I was an intern, and I downloaded a very basic typing tutor program. Teaching myself to touch-type was one of the best things I’ve ever done.
There are lots of online typing programs, as other posters have shown. Just pick one and stick with it. The programs generally concentrate on teaching you avoid the common mistakes. You practice a level until you can complete it quickly. Then move on to the next.
I learned the ten finger system along time ago. I can write faster then almost 99% and I never have to look at the keyboard. It’s worth the time investment learning the ten finger system, because when you finally totally get it, it is a hell of a lot faster…
Use MSN Messenger to talk to your friends a lot. This improved my typing speed a HUGE amount. Also just by practise you will subconsciously learn where all the buttons are on the board (I don’t even have to look at the keyboard to type anymore) which speeds things up a lot.
Learn to touch-type. It’s well worth the time and effort. There must be loads of freeware out there. I personally used ktouch, but your mileage might differ.
The second most important thing to do is to forget about your current keyboard layout and jump on the Dvorak bandwagon. It’s everything it promises to be and more.
Finally, get yourself one of those if you can afford it. Alternatively, jump erase all characters from your current keyboard keys with some acetone. I ain’t kidding! It’s the best way the force the mapping in your head.
Give it a month or two, and you’ll be the fastest gun around.
I used Mavis Beacon or something similar a while ago, as well as having to learn to type in one of my classes at school (over 13 years ago) and can vouch for the benefit of touch-typing with all your fingers.
Even if you’ve got the mad keyboardin’ skillz that Professor X has, I would think you could improve them with proper training. And, if you can touch type, you don’t have to keep shifting your field of view from documents or whatever back to your keyboard.
Some of the software is actually kind of fun, too… the good ones involve games so, the faster you type, the faster your guy runs in a race or the more accurate you are, the less your car crashes, etc.
[quote]StupidMonkey wrote:
I used Mavis Beacon or something similar a while ago, as well as having to learn to type in one of my classes at school (over 13 years ago) and can vouch for the benefit of touch-typing with all your fingers.
Even if you’ve got the mad keyboardin’ skillz that Professor X has, I would think you could improve them with proper training. And, if you can touch type, you don’t have to keep shifting your field of view from documents or whatever back to your keyboard.
Some of the software is actually kind of fun, too… the good ones involve games so, the faster you type, the faster your guy runs in a race or the more accurate you are, the less your car crashes, etc.[/quote]
I may have to give a try. I just haven’t had a problem with it.
I do get a lot of people who have walked by my office in the past who stop and ask if I am really typing or if I am just hitting keys randomly.
I started out with something like 6 finger typing. Same story as X – I sat in the typing class and ignored the teachers advice because it slowed me down. This was a bad idea because in the long run, it would have been better to use all ten fingers. Even worse, it became almost impossible to learn the correct way once I had learned the wrong way.
I discovered the Dvorak layout that Lixy mentioned when I was 16, and sat down and learned it over the course of a couple months. This time I had the patience and discipline to avoid taking shortcuts that improved performance in the short term but burt it in the long run.
Dvorak is a great thing. In addition to being faster, it’s much easier on the fingers and causes less strain and fatigue. I have never looked back.
You don’t need to buy a new keyboard. On both windows and mac, you can switch the layout in a matter of a few clicks. In fact, I would discourage buying a new keyboard or physically rearranging your keys because that will just encourage you to look at them.
By the way, you can test your typing speed here: http://www.typingzone.com/ and submit your results and see how you rank. Many (especially 4 and 6 finger typists) think they are fast but actually are not. This is actually a pretty cool site with a number of unique challenges.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Play video games.[/quote]
That’s how I became proficient at typing. We were taught the whole asdf-jkl; thing back in elementary school. I knew where my fingers should have been placed, but I simply couldn’t get any kind of speed. I then started playing Team Fortress Classic on PC a few years later, and it was like a switch was flipped on. Being required to type short phrases repeatedly and quickly helped me commit key placements to memory and helped me develop speed and accuracy. I can’t picture ever not knowing how to type quickly now.
I second (or third or whatever) the touch-typing recommendation. I was a computer nerd when I was younger so I could type pretty fast already. I decided to give that typing technique a try and it took some getting used to but it definitely improved my typing speed after I mastered the technique. Since then I’ve always used the “home rows” techniques and I can just about type at the speed somebody talks at and don’t have to look at the screen when I type. It’s been real helpful in college.
Type words not letters. In other words, don’t think about each letter you type as you go. Think of the word and let it come off your fingertips. Much much faster. I’m about 80wpm with negligible errors.