The most common keyboard is the standard QWERTY, but there are other types of keyboards you might want to consider. However, when it comes to the following tips, it doesn’t matter which keyboard you use. This will save you time and make you really proud of your progress.
1. Get to Know Your Keyboard
You can find different models of keyboards, so it’s really important to take a good look at the one you’re using. Check out the letters first, but don’t forget the numbers and symbols. Also, there are usually some shortcuts and helpful keys like the email key, volume up and down, home, delete, end, page up, page down. These are just some basic quick keys. You will discover more while practicing your typing. That’s why it’s important to check all the keys and their possibilities.
2. Sit Up Straight
Not only that it’s healthy and important for feeling good, sitting properly also affects your typing. Hours of sitting in the same position can be unpleasant, but if you type faster, you will spend less time sitting and have more time to relax. So, keep your feet flat on the floor, and your back straight up. Remember how we used to sit at school? It should be just like that.
Also, your wrists should be at the same level as the keyboard – you can use something to level them up. And your elbows should be on the table, if you’re typing at one. If you’re on the couch with your laptop, then you have to avoid lying on your belly, because you put too much pressure on your shoulders and elbows. That will cause slower typing, more mistakes and probably some discomfort, too.
3. Use the Home Position of Fingers
Different keyboards bring different home positions. For the QWERTY type, your index fingers should be on the F and J keys, and other fingers will naturally follow. So, if you put your left index finger on the F, your left middle finger should be on the D, etc.
It will take some time to find your own way through the keys. There are some rules you can find about which finger should press which keys. The truth is, if you type a lot, your brain and fingers will find their own shortcuts and save you the trouble of searching for keys.
4. Don’t Look At Your Keyboard
Here comes the tricky part. Do not look at your keyboard! You will only cheat yourself. If you really want to type fast, you will have to practice “blind typing” all the time. It’s tough, especially because looking at it will come to you as a reflex. But try hard not to look, because that’s actually the most important thing. When your brain doesn’t get the picture of the keys, it will find its own way to search faster and find keys without looking.
5. Practice Every Day
Practice makes perfect. You know that, I know that, everybody knows that. So find some old stuff you wrote on papers, or whatever you enjoy reading and re-type it. Don’t let it be just work, because then you will see it as stress. Typing has its own pleasures, believe me. You can use it as a journal, and then you’ll see how fun it is. All in all, practice, practice, and practice. None of these tips will have enough effect without it.
Well that worked, I kept resting my wrists and it’s not on the same height as my keyboard, but this just helped me out! Now I can type with less mistakes/typos. And getting to know my keyboard, though, I can still type sometimes with more errors, but that was last time. This time, I can type with LESS typos. Thanks for the advice by the way!