Tips for beginners last updated December 21, 2017
- Posture
- Maintaining the correct body posture will not only help with maintaining a fast typing pace but will prevent wrist, neck and back pain and various other medical issues in the long run.
- Always sit straight and remember to keep your back straight too.
- Adjust the height of your seat if possible so your forearms are parallel to the desk and your elbow is bent at a 90 degrees angle.
- Face the screen and tilt your head slightly forward.
- Your eye level should be at the same height as the top of your screen.
- You can rest your wrists on the table while typing, but if this is uncomfortable or causes pain, use a palm rest and flatten your keyboard by leaving it’s feet folded in.
- Try to expose your shoulder, arm and wrist muscles to as little strain as possible.
- The home row
- The most important rule of touch typing is to always return your fingers to the home row when you are not typing. This is a special row that contains the f and j keys that usually have small bumps on them to signal where you have to place your index fingers. Curve your fingers a little and place them on the a s d f and j k l ; keys.Use this position as a reference point to learn how to reach other keys on the keyboard.
- Don’t look
- It is very hard, but you must refrain from looking at the keyboard from the very beginning. Find the home row with your fingertips and try to press the correct keys with the correct fingers without looking down. When practicing, always watch the text on the screen that you have to type instead of the keyboard. Looking down is the last resort when you really can’t find a key.
- When you completed the basic lessons, it is important to try and use your new typing skills in real life situations. You must force yourself to touch type even if you are not practicing. This will make you slower and it will surely be a frustrating experience for some time, but your speed will quickly double compared to the hunt and peck method.
- Shift
- To type capital letters or symbols found on the number keys, you have to press down with your opposite hand pinky on the Shift key while you press the desired key. By using the opposite hand to press the modifier key you can type capital letters and symbols without losing rhythm.
- Aim for accuracy, not speed
- You might be a fast typer, but speed doesn’t matter if you constantly have to go back to fix your mistakes. Fast typing depends on precise muscle memory, so you really don’t want to reinforce bad habits by trying to be too fast too early. Prioritise accuracy instead of speed, especially in case of difficult words.
- Learn all keys
- It is inevitable that you get much better at typing common keys - letters of the alphabet, Space, Shift, Enter and the Backspace keys. However there are also numbers, symbols and even the Alt and Alt Gr keys that you should know how to use just as well. If you are working with spreadsheets or work as a programmer, you do need to use a lot of symbols for example. Do try to practice these, so you will not have to slow down and hunt for them.
- Practice regularly
- It is said that to master any craft you need 10,000 hours of practice. This might be true, but you don’t need to do it all at once - you just need to do it regularly to strengthen your muscle memory. Try to practice everyday for somewhere between 10 to 60 minutes. Try to eliminate distractions and focus on accuracy and proper technique. If you feel that you are making too many mistakes, slow down or just finish for the day. Don’t force practice if you don’t feel like it.
Magyar