Many of us can bash out a text message without thinking, but typing using all of our fingers and a keyboard is more of a challenge. Touch typing at speed is an invaluable skill – the average person can type at 40 words per minute, but with a little training this can be boosted. And it's not as difficult as you think. "A lot of people could easily reach 80 words per minute," says Christian Strang, developer of online typing test site 10fastfingers.com. Here are his tips.
Your resting position should be on the keyboard's centre line – left pinkie on the A key, right pinkie on the semicolon, with only G and H uncovered. Reach up and down from there. Your thumbs stay on the space bar, no exceptions.
The best way to prevent sneaking glances at the keys under your fingers is by taking away the option. A napkin or tea towel works perfectly, and will motivate you to quickly learn where the backspace key is.
There are lots of resources online – from free games and tests such as Desert Typing Racer and TypingClub, to paid courses like Type Fu. Choose one with increasing levels of difficulty, including numbers and punctuation.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
