From: [email protected]
Date: 2016-09-25
Subject: Learning to Type

I  never  really learned how to type. There is a Right Way to type:
back straight, eyes forward, fingers on the home row.  I  developed
an  idiosyncratic typing style that was somewhere between hunt-and-
peck and the Right Way.  Using my incorrect technique, I  was  able
to  type  as  fast  as  57  words  per minute. According to various
sources, the average typing speed is about 40 WPM, so I wasn't  do-
ing too bad. I wanted to get faster and my initial plan was just to
practice a lot. After a lot of effort and  no  increase  in  typing
speed,  I  became  convinced that learning the correct typing tech-
nique was the best way to increase my typing speed.

In my research, I discovered a study that was conducted in the Aal-
to University in Helsinki, Finland[1]. Their findings challenged my
assumption that using correct typing technique is required to  type
fast. These folks found that typing speed is not dependent on using
Correct Technique, it's about using a _consistent_ technique (using
the  same  fingers to hit the same keys). That's going to be easier
to achieve when using an established technique. I  decided  that  I
was  going to commit to learning the touch typing technique. Having
learned to play a number of musical instruments, I am familiar with
the  amount of work that is required to develop this kind of muscle
memory.  Musicians often practice playing scales over and  over  in
order to increase speed.

When I first committed to using the touch typing technique, I could
almost type at 20 wpm. It was excruciating. One of the most popular
speed  typing  test  sites  would  time out on me, I was so slow. I
trained using keybr.com[2]. Keybr uses a unique and,  in  my  case,
effective  method  for  learning touch typing technique. From their
site:

    There are several features in Keybr.com that set it apart
    from  most  of the typing practice software out there. In
    short, it employs statistics and smart algorithms to  au-
    tomatically generate typing lessons matching your skills.

I  resolved to practice for 20 minutes, two or three times a day. I
had to overcome a lot of bad habits, but  I  was  making  progress.
After  almost  two  months,  I  can type at about 50 WPM. While I'm
still typing a little slower than when I started, there  have  been
other benefits to learning to touch-type.

*  With  continued practice, I should be able to increase my speed.
Working through plateaus is to be expected.
* I used to type while looking at the keyboard and then  look  back
up  to check my work. Now, I can type without looking down so, even
though I'm slower, I'm much more efficient.
* I type more accurately and I use the backspace key much less  of-
ten than I did before.
*  I can type fairly accurately while looking neither at the screen
or at my keyboard.

If youre thinking about learning to touch  type,  I  recommend  it.
There  are  benefits beyond the opportunity to increase your typing
speed. Youre going to be typing for your whole life, so it's  never
too late to commit to getting better.

[1]: http://userinterfaces.aalto.fi/how-we-type/
[2]: https://keybr.com