The benefits of typing fast
Hey friends!
Today I'm going to tell you about one of the best skills I have, and that is typing fast.
I'll explain different ways you can improve your speed, as well as how your keyboard layout can influence how fast you type.
Why should I care about typing faster?
Typing fast has many benefits.
Most revolve around the fact it allows you to type as fast as you think, which enables you to be more creative, more productive, and more efficient. But it's not limited to that, it can be beneficial for a whole range of other things, such as data entry, taking notes in real time, or just about anything else you do with a keyboard. Typing fast will make you more efficient at home, at work, in the classroom or at university.
It's also a cool skill to show off, because it looks pretty amazing when you're typing at 160 WPM (words per minute), not that I can type that fast!
How can I type faster?
Let's start with the basics. Are you placing your fingers correctly? Many people only use a couple of fingers to type. This obviously slows you down, as you have to move your hands more. If you (like I used to) do this, I would consider starting from scratch and re-learning the fundamentals with a learn to type website. There are a bunch of free ones out there, the best ones I have seen are: TypingClub, Typing.com and TypingAcademy
After you've corrected how you type, you can think about speeding it up a notch. As a first step, I would recommend using a website called TypeRacer, which is great for practicing your speed and accuracy. Once you've improved, you can move to MonkeyType, which is a nice program to use and can take your typing to the next level. I would still recommend regular practice on TypeRacer though.
Another thing you can do is consider using a different keyboard layout, the idea being that this will improve the ergonomics while typing. You would be familiar with the Qwerty layout (the one you're probably using right now), possibly even Qwertz (the German equivalent) or Dvorak. I use my own variation of the 'Workman' layout. It attempts to eliminate finger movement as much as possible by moving the most used keys closer to where your fingers rest. If you want to read more about different layouts, check out my blog on that topic.
It really doesn't take much time or effort to fit in some daily typing practice, but the benefits are huge. I'd recommend giving it a go.
Thanks for reading!
Some of my favourite things
Music/study with me
Beautiful view of Yokohama Harbour at sunset and nice music. Makes it really easy to get stuff done.
Ad-blocker
A great ad-blocker which I have been using for months. It works all across the internet and makes consuming any form of content much nicer!
Book
'What goes up' by Katie Kennedy
A sci-fi book about a group of teenage trainees at the Interworlds Agency (IA), the fictional branch of NASA that deals with travelling to other planets and galaxies.
Thought of the week (changing it up a bit)
'A goal is a compass - systematically achieving that goal is a project - doing something without a compass is a hobby.' I thought of this while I was doing my weekly review on Monday. I came across the analogy that day from a video by Tiago Forte on the topic of goals. Quite a thought-provoking video, I'd recommend checking it out.
Have a great week!
Cheers, Toby
