

Ask HN: I can already touch type, how do I get better/faster? - samarudge

When I was 13, I learned to touch type. By 15 my average WPM was 48 (Looking back on my SEN reports). Now (I'm 19), my average speed is 57. So in 4 years of typing most of the day, every day (I used my laptop for all my school/college work and most of my exams) I've only improved by 10 WPM. I have friends typing at +70 WPM who've been typing less time than me.<p>What resources (Free, paid I don't care) are available to improve my typing speed? There are lots to learn, but I already know. Most advise is just to "keep doing it", but it's not working, I'm not really getting any faster.<p>I've considered switching keyboards (DVORAK) but since I work on lots of different laptops and computers I think it would require too much effort.
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tangentcity
You won't type faster than you think. Typing fast - apart from the manual
ability to do it - requires thinking fluently. Maybe you're inhibiting
yourself by self-editing while you're forming the sentences in your mind as
you're typing. Try free-writing: writing anything, as long as it's English
(not random letters), not censoring anything, nonsense or sense welcome
indifferently. What's the fastest you can write without putting on the brakes
to judge? That would be the upper limit of your dexterity. (It's also a good
exercise.)

Practice is a huge factor in dexterity. I think my typing speed increased
linearly from the 40s to the 70-80 wpm range during the four years or so when
time I was typing 3,000-10,000 words (10-20) pages every day. It has plateaued
there for the last 10 years, because I just don't type as much.

Your gear counts. For me the ultimate feel was the IBM Selectric II, the one
with the ball. The whirr and strike of when you hit a key, the hum of the
machine waiting if you paused to ponder, encouraged typing. Most computer
keyboards today make dispiriting noises. Hackers and writers will prefer the
Das Keyboard (<http://www.daskeyboard.com/>). They say the all-black one
forces your brain to touch type since it's hopeless to hunt and peck. I like
it mostly because of the feel - the force you need to type on an 'a' or a
semi-colong is less than for an "f" or a "j". The Das has a real smooth ride.
There's something in that racket that encourages fast typing, like the first
few pings of metallic raindrops building to a sustained mechanical storm - all
because of your awesome creativity and work ethic. You can even pack and play
- take it on trips for you if you know you will have to use someone else's
inferior desktop setup.

The fastest way to write is steno. Plover (<http://plover.stenoknight.com/>)
has been mentioned on HN recently.

Practice is the most important - Gladwell's annoying 10,000 hours and all. Not
only rack up the hours, but practice with your whole body and mind. What are
you writing, anyway? Don't think for a second that Malmsteen played guitar to
meet a metric. You gotta have a feel for what, and why you're doing, what
you're doing.

In summary like what you write, like your gear, and use it intensely. If you
don't improve then you might be limited genetically, which doesn't matter.
Once the ink dries, nobody knows how long it took you.

------
tangentcity
You won't type faster than you think. Are you inhibiting yourself, judging the
worth of your output, shaping your sentences as you’re laying them down? Try
free-writing: writing anything, as long as it's English (not random letters),
not censoring anything, nonsense or sense welcome indifferently. What's the
fastest you can write without putting on the brakes to judge? That would be
the upper limit of your dexterity.

Your gear counts. I remember the IBM Selectric II, the one with the ball. The
whirr and strike, the hum of the machine waiting if you paused to ponder,
encouraged typing. Most computer keyboards today make an annoying noise, even
thought it might be quiet. Hackers and writers will prefer the Das Keyboard
(<http://www.daskeyboard.com/>). They say the all-black one (nothing printed
on the keys, like a piano) trains your brain to touch type like a Pro. I like
it mostly because of the feel - the force you need to type an 'a' or a ‘;’ is
less than for an ‘f’ or a ‘j’. The Das has a real smooth ride. There's
something in that racket that encourages fast typing, like the first few pings
of metallic raindrops building to a sustained mechanical storm - all because
of your awesome creativity and work ethic. It reminds me of the IBM Selectric
II, the one with the metal ball whirring and striking.

Practice is a huge factor in dexterity. I think my typing speed increased
linearly from the 40s to the 70-80 wpm range during the four years or so when
time I was typing 3,000-10,000 words (10-20) pages every day. It has plateaued
there for the last 10 years, because I just don't type as much. The fastest
way to write is steno. Plover (<http://plover.stenoknight.com/>) has been
mentioned on HN recently. But practice is the most important - Gladwell's
annoying 10,000 hours, yes. The hours. Not only rack ‘em up but practice with
your body and soul. What are you writing, anyway? Don't think for a second
that Malmsteen played guitar to a metric, so many notes per minute. You gotta
have a feel for it. Maybe you’re not meant to type fast, eh - maybe the world
needs something else out of you?

In summary: like what you write, like your gear, and use it intensely. If you
don't improve then you might be limited genetically, which doesn't matter.
Once the ink dries, nobody knows how long it took you.

------
maguay
Just keep typing. It really, really does get faster over time. I was typing at
around 50 WPM when I graduated from high school, and 5 years later, I'm
regularly typing at 80+ WPM just from sheer practice during college and in
work (I'm primarily a tech writer). If you want extra practice,
<http://typingweb.com/> is a great online typing tutor app.

~~~
phaus
typingweb.com is a great website. Without using any other resource, I went
from hunting and pecking to touch-typing about 70-80 wpm in about three
months. All it takes is short bursts of consistent practice.

I don't remember where I read it, but the world record holder supposedly typed
out 1000 words of error-free text each and every day. Whenever he made a
mistake (this probably didn't happen often) he would simply start over and try
again.

------
Natsu
Odd, I increased my typing speed with practice alone. I was in the ~30 WPM
range when I finished practicing and got up to speed merely by typing over
time.

IRC, especially some trivia games where you have to be the first to answer,
may have helped, though.

------
steeleduncan
Are you making the mistake of watching the keyboard? Old-school typewriter
books recommend covering your hands whilst performing the exercises. Also,
make sure you learn all the numbers, symbols and punctuation.

~~~
samarudge
Nope, never look at the keyboard. And I don't make many mistakes ether. I can
also touch-type-program (So use all punctuation/numbers etc.). it's just speed

------
snissn
try learning vim

~~~
samarudge
I know vim, that's irrelevant. My typing is too slow, nothing to do with the
tools. And about 40% of my writing is long text not code

