How to Type Faster: Accuracy First, Then Speed
A practical method for raising typing speed: technique, deliberate practice and error handling, based on what large typing studies show.
Most people plateau at a typing speed that is good enough and stay there for decades. The plateau is not a ceiling. It comes from habits, usually looking at the keys, using too few fingers and correcting errors at the cost of flow. This guide explains what separates fast typists from average ones, using evidence from a study of 168,000 typists, and gives a practical way to improve.
Where you are starting from
In the largest typing study to date, Dhakal and colleagues (2018) collected 136 million keystrokes from 168,000 volunteers. The average speed was about 52 words per minute with a standard deviation of about 20 WPM, and the average uncorrected error rate was about 1.2%. The slowest tenth typed below roughly 26 WPM and the fastest tenth above roughly 78 WPM. So if you are at 50, you are average; if you are at 80, you are in the top ten percent. Our average typing speed page has the benchmarks.
What fast typists do differently
The 2018 study and earlier research on transcription typing (Salthouse, 1986) point the same way: fast typists are not simply moving each finger more quickly. Their advantages are:
- Overlapping keystrokes (rollover). Fast typists often press the next key before releasing the last, so their fingers work in parallel.
- Using alternating hands and fingers. Letter pairs typed by different hands or fingers were a stronger predictor of speed than repeated letters. Fast typists are more fluent on pairs where the fingers can prepare in advance.
- Fewer errors. Faster typists made fewer mistakes, not more. Speed built on accuracy lasts; speed built on sloppiness gets cancelled by corrections.
- Looking ahead. Earlier research found that skilled typists read the upcoming text while typing the current word. This is why a typing test that disappears or that you do not read ahead on feels so much slower.
A practical method
1. Fix accuracy first
Slow down until you type at about 97–98% accuracy, then raise the speed gradually. Practising at a speed where you make many errors trains the errors. Correcting mistakes costs more time than it seems: each error needs detection, a backspace, and a restart of the rhythm.
2. Learn to type without looking
Cover the keyboard or use blank keycaps if needed. The goal is to build a map of key positions in your fingers. This will feel slower at first. Expect a temporary drop in speed.
3. Practise deliberately in short sessions
Skill research (Ericsson and colleagues) suggests that focused practice on your weak spots beats long sessions of easy repetition. Fifteen to twenty minutes a day with full attention is more effective than an hour of mindless typing. Pick out the letter combinations you find hardest and drill those.
4. Type real text
Random letter drills build finger memory, but real text builds the word-level patterns that fast typing depends on. Alternate: drill your weak combinations, then type a paragraph of real prose.
5. Keep your eyes on the text
Read a few words ahead and let your fingers catch up. If your eyes are on the word you are currently typing, you are limited to the speed at which you can read and type the same word.
6. Use a consistent rhythm
Aim for even keystroke timing. Bursts and pauses are less efficient than a steady flow, and an even rhythm makes it easier for your fingers to prepare the next movement.
Ergonomics
- Keep your wrists in a neutral position, not bent sharply up or down.
- Sit with your elbows around 90 degrees and the keyboard at a comfortable height.
- Take brief breaks. Pain, numbness or tingling in the hands or wrists is a reason to stop and see a professional.
How fast can you expect to get?
Most people who practise regularly for a few weeks see clear gains, often ten or more words per minute, especially if they were not touch typing before. Gains slow as you approach your limit. Professional-level speeds above 100 WPM take months or years of practice and some natural ability for fast finger sequencing.
Measuring your progress
- Take the typing speed test before you start to get a baseline.
- Test again once a week at the same time of day, using the same keyboard.
- Look at net WPM (correct characters only) and accuracy together. Rising speed with falling accuracy is not progress.
Keyboards matter a little. A keyboard you are used to will beat an unfamiliar one by several words per minute at first. Switching layouts such as QWERTY to Dvorak has no solid evidence of making you faster in the long run and costs weeks of lost speed, so it is rarely worth it for speed alone.
Sources
- Dhakal, V., Feit, A. M., Kristensson, P. O., & Oulasvirta, A. (2018). Observations on typing from 136 million keystrokes. Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Paper 646. (project page)
- Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100(3), 363–406.
- Salthouse, T. A. (1986). Perceptual, cognitive, and motoric aspects of transcription typing. Psychological Bulletin, 99(3), 303–319.