Touch typing is one of those things that so many of us aspire to do, whether it’s so that we can move up a level in our careers, be that bit more efficient and effective in our current jobs, or even gain that boost in confidence we might need for those day-to-day tasks that require typing.
However, if you really want to learn how to touch type, it’s not just formal training that will help you to do it. That’s because there are also all manner of tips and tricks that will enable you to master touch typing so much more quickly and confidently – so we thought we’d share a few below!
Know your Fs and Js!
No, we’re not talking about swear words you should avoid typing, but instead these two very significant keys on the keyboard. Look down at your keyboard now, in fact, and you might notice that both the F and J keys have little bumps on them.
What’s that all about? Well, those bumps are there to remind touch typists where they should be positioning their fingers. So, it’s a good idea to make it a habit to do just that – perhaps even applying blue tack or Velcro stickers to these keys to make your touch typing ‘starting point’ even more difficult to forget!
Get your posture right
Why does it matter whether someone is hunched forward, laid back or for that matter, adopting any other particular posture when they’re trying to touch type?
The answer is that it makes a real difference to your effectiveness, helping to prevent you from making mistakes. So, ensure you’re sitting comfortably before you begin, with your feet on the floor and the top of the desk in line with your belly button.
Also keep your elbows tucked in as you type so that your fingers sit squarely on the keys, and check that the top of the screen is in line with your eyes.
Aim for accuracy before speed
Of course, much of the point of touch typing is to type quickly and intuitively without committing errors. Sure enough, any less than 95% accuracy with your typing will slow you down and greatly erode the advantages of learning to touch type in the first place.
Indeed, here at Type IT!, we’re quite strict with our students from day one of our courses about the importance of achieving a minimum of 95% accuracy when typing. Fortunately, this is very achievable as long as the student doesn’t type too fast.
We insist on such accuracy from the beginning because anything less would mean that the student is either typing too fast or making multiple errors on the same key.
And we would not want our students to carry those errors forward with them – bearing in mind that as typing is based on muscle memory, the brain could otherwise be effectively trained into thinking the wrong keys are the ‘right’ keys!
With touch typing effectively being 80% technique, 10% accuracy and 10% speed, the learning process should be, above all, about getting your hand position and typing technique right. Only when you get to a good level in these aspects of typing, will you be able to type both fast and accurately.
There you have it – just a few tips that show touch typing doesn’t have to be too intimidating or complicated. If you’d like to learn more about how you can touch type effectively, you’re welcome to enquire to us here at Type IT! about our great-value online touch typing courses.