No matter what sphere you want to pursue your career in, excellent typing skills are a must-have of an effective employee. The impact of innovative technologies resulted in increased requirements. In most spheres, you need to spend the most time working on a computer or laptop, or even a mobile phone. It especially pertains to programmers who constantly write codes.
The more quickly and accurately you type, the more attention you pay to the content itself. You will be able to work more efficiently if you reduce the number of typos and errors in your texts. If you are fed up and anxious about constantly correcting your texts, you can’t be called a flexible and motivated employee. Keep on reading this article if you want to brush up on your typing skills.
Tips for Better Typing Speed and Accuracy
Without constant practice, it is impossible to reach high achievements in a short time period. In some cases, you can turn to assistance from advanced technologies. For instance, if you need to type a lot of text urgently, you can use audio to text transcription. We can’t say that using it in any situation is necessary. Yet, converting audio to text provides effective results if you are in a time crunch and don’t want to make mistakes.
1. Correct Hand Position
While exercising your typing skills, the proper position of your hands is essential. Keep your fingers on one row of keys and the thumbs above the space tab. From this position, you can easily reach all the keys on the keyboard. Remember to return your hands to this position when you stop typing. You can also try various beginning positions to find the most convenient and suitable for you. The right-hand placement is crucial to reach all the keys quickly and type faster.
2. Look at the Screen
It is the most common mistake users make. Try to concentrate on your screen instead of looking at your fingers and keyboard. It can be hard in the beginning, and you may need more time to type. But after some time, you will notice considerable changes. When you look at the screen, you let your fingers memorize the right placement of keys. You will also catch your errors right away.
3. Start Slowly
Pay attention to your typing speed. 60-80 words per minute are great speed for the needs of the ordinary person. Some jobs and activities may require higher typing speed, so read the job description attentively. When you start at a low speed, you enhance your accuracy first and only then work on speeding up. If you type the document correctly, you don’t need to spend extra time editing and proofreading your text.
4. Practice Makes Perfect
You can’t master any skills in one day. Be ready for a few weeks or even months of constant exercising. After you know the basic rules of placing fingers and realize how they move on the keyboard, intensive practice will help you achieve high results. Your speed and accuracy will improve gradually. Develop a schedule to exercise and keep on working.
5. Maintain Good Posture
Many people who want to improve their typing don’t realize the importance of good posture. If you lie on the sofa with the laptop on your knees, don’t expect high speed and increased accuracy of your typing. We won’t even mention how harmful it is to sit in an improper pose. Keep the screen angle at 20 degrees and on eye level. Place your elbows on the table to control them. If you want to have the text typed quickly and you have an uncomfortable pose, you can use audio to text transcription.
6. Comfortable Environment
The lighting of your work environment is necessary to read documents easily. Pay attention to the height of your desk and chair. A convenient environment is necessary to focus and control your moves. Make sure you have enough light from the window and the desk lamp. The screen distance should be 40-70 cm from your eyes.
If you want to type faster on your mobile phone or tablet, you need a bit of different exercise. In some cases, when you want to type a message or text but your hands are busy, voice-to-text software can be a better choice. Using them, you receive an error-free text quickly because such tools catch difficult words.
Apps and Games to Practice Typing
To make exercising even more fun, you can use special apps to boost your typing. Here are a few popular free typing games and apps to increase your speed and work on your accuracy.
Keyboard Ninja
If you know the game Fruit Ninja, using this one won’t be a problem because they have much in common. There are many difficulty levels to master your typing skills.
Typeracer
This is a fun typing game you can play with your friends. This app lets you type long sentences. You can even take part in typing contests and compete with other online players.
Typing Chronicles
If you want a more engaging experience, try this game. The downside of this app is that you have to pay for it. It adapts to your skill level and offers personalized performance. The experience with this app gets more difficult if you use it for a long time.
To Sum Up
To cut a long story short, here are the basic rules to enhance typing skills:
- Create a convenient environment
- Place your hands correctly
- Look at the screen, not at the keyboard
- Start typing slowly
- Try apps and games to have more fun
If you need to type a long and complicated text very quickly, you can use an automated transcription service to speed up your typing. It is an effective but rather a one-time solution that only helps you achieve goals. Be ready that the result of the exercises will not be immediate.
