How to type faster
Fast typists share a few habits: the same finger for the same key, eyes on the screen, keystrokes that overlap, and very few corrections. This guide shows what research on thousands of typists found, then the steps, habits and drills that build those habits.
To type faster, build the habits research links to speed: the same finger for the same key,[2] eyes on the screen,[2] and few enough errors that you rarely stop to fix them.[1] Touch typing is the most reliable way to get all three. Practise in short daily sessions, which beat long ones,[3] and make a point of typing quickly in everyday use, not only in practice.[4]
Why you type slowly (and how to fix it)
The usual story is that slow typists are slow because they use too few fingers. The research is more interesting than that. In a motion-capture study of 30 everyday typists, self-taught typists using fewer fingers averaged 58.9 WPM against 57.8 for trained touch typists, with no significant difference.[2] What separated fast typists from slow ones, in either group, was consistency: pressing each letter with the same finger every time, getting the next finger ready early, and keeping the hands still.[2]
The same study found the real cost of not touch typing is in your eyes. Self-taught typists spent 41% of their time looking at the keyboard, twice as much as touch typists.[2] In the 168,960-person study, the fastest tenth used 8.4 fingers on average against 5.3 for the slowest, and people who had taken a typing course were about 5 WPM faster.[1] So if you type by looking down, or your fingers wander between keys, touch typing is still the most reliable fix, because it builds consistency by design. The free Learn Typing course teaches it from the home row up.
Learn touch typing, step by step
Speed is built on a foundation of correct technique. Work through these six stages in order — each teaches the right finger for a group of keys, then mixes them into real words. Do not rush ahead; a solid earlier stage makes every later one faster.
Accuracy before speed — always
Speed and accuracy go together far more than people expect. Compare the fastest and slowest tenth of the 168,960 typists in the largest study:[1]
| Measure | Fastest 10% | Slowest 10% |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | 89.6 WPM | 20.9 WPM |
| Keystrokes that overlap the previous one (rollover) | 49.9% | 7.6% |
| Fingers used | 8.4 | 5.3 |
| Keystrokes spent correcting errors | 3.4% | 9.1% |
| Errors left in the final text | 0.71% | 1.78% |
The slowest typists spent nearly three times as much of their effort fixing mistakes. Tests make this worse, because most report net WPM, which subtracts errors, so a clean 50 WPM beats a sloppy 65.
So slow down until you can hit keys cleanly, aim for 95% accuracy or higher, and let speed grow on that foundation. This matters even more for exams that disable backspace, like SSC CGL and CPCT, where a mistake cannot be undone. Curious what to aim for? See our guide to what a good typing speed is.
Six habits that build real speed
Once your fingers know the keys, these habits turn steady typing into fast typing. Each one is tied to a finding; the number links to the source.
Type in words, not letters
Fast typists press the next key before releasing the last. In the 168,960-person study this overlap (“rollover”) was the strongest predictor of speed: about half of keystrokes for the fastest tenth, under 8% for the slowest.[1]
Keep your eyes on the screen
In a motion-capture study, typists who did not touch type spent 41% of their time looking at the keyboard, against 20% for touch typists. Every glance down is time not spent reading ahead.[2]
Same finger, same key
The clearest marker of fast typists was consistency: each letter pressed by the same finger every time. Swapping fingers for the same key keeps you from building automatic movements.[2]
Set out to type quickly
In a study of 60 experienced typists, the fastest were those who had taken a typing class and who made a point of typing quickly in everyday use, not just in practice.[4]
Keep wrists straight
OSHA advises wrists in line with your forearms, not bent up, down or sideways, with the keyboard height adjusted to suit. Rest the heel of the hand only when you pause.[5]
Practise little and often
When postmen learned to type, one hour a day beat two two-hour sessions a day for the same total hours. Shorter, daily practice wins.[3]
Practice drills to get faster
Practise mostly on real text. Typists slow down by about half on random letter strings,[2] so random drills train patterns you will rarely meet. Then target your weakest keys: your test results list the ones you mistype most. Mix these drills so practice stays varied:
Measure progress and push through plateaus
Retest yourself once or twice a week on the free typing speed test and note your net WPM and accuracy. You will see timelines online promising “60 WPM in four weeks”. We have not found a study behind any of them, so we do not publish one. The best evidence on how fast people learn is a 1978 study of postmen learning a typewriter keyboard from scratch:[3]
- Learning the whole keyboard took about 35 hours of practice for the group trained one hour a day, and about 50 hours for the group trained two two-hour sessions a day.
- After 60 hours, the one-hour-a-day group was faster and more accurate than the four-hours-a-day group was after 80.
- The catch: one hour a day took 12 weeks of calendar time, against 3 weeks for the intensive group.
- Retested one, three or nine months later, they had lost about 30% of their speed, so keep a little practice going.
They were typing postal codes, not prose, so do not read their speeds as WPM targets. The lesson is about schedule: for the same hours, shorter daily sessions win.
Hit a plateau? It usually means a handful of keys or old habits are holding you back. Find them in your mistyped-key list and drill them. Push your speed in short bursts slightly faster than feels comfortable, then slow back down to keep accuracy. And carry the effort into everyday typing: in a study of 60 experienced typists, the fastest were those who made a point of typing quickly day to day.[4]
Start typing faster today
Learn the correct fingers for free, then measure your WPM and watch it climb. No login, no download — just open, type, and improve.
Frequently asked questions
How can I type faster?
Build three habits: use the same finger for the same key every time, keep your eyes on the screen, and make few enough errors that you rarely stop to correct. Touch typing is the most reliable way to build all three. Then practise in short daily sessions, and make a point of typing quickly in everyday use too.
How long does it take to type faster?
There is no reliable research timeline, and the ones quoted online (“60 WPM in four weeks”) are guesses. The best controlled study trained postmen from scratch: learning the whole keyboard took about 35 hours of practice on a one-hour-a-day schedule, and about 50 on a four-hours-a-day schedule. Measure your own progress weekly; that curve is the only timeline that applies to you.
Is it better to type fast or accurately?
Accurately, and the two are less opposed than they seem. In the 168,960-person study, the fastest typists spent 3.4% of their keystrokes correcting mistakes, against 9.1% for the slowest. Most tests also report net WPM, which subtracts errors. Get accurate first, then push the pace.
How do I type without looking at the keyboard?
Learn the home row so your fingers always have a reference point (feel for the bumps on F and J), then practise reaching each key by feel with an on-screen keyboard as your guide. It feels slower for a few sessions. The payoff is your eyes: touch typists in one study looked at the keyboard half as much as other typists. Ninja Typing’s free Learn Typing course teaches exactly this.
What is the best way to practise typing?
Little and often. Research on learning to type found one hour a day learned faster than longer sessions; we suggest 15 to 30 focused minutes, which is easier to sustain. Practise on real text: typists slow down by about half on random letters, so real words train the patterns you will actually use. Finish each session with a timed test.
How can I type faster as a beginner?
Start with technique, not speed. Learn the home row, then add each row in order using the correct fingers, and keep accuracy high before pushing pace. Beginners improve fastest by not looking at the keyboard and practising a little every day. Follow the step-by-step Learn Typing course from the beginning.
Can I really increase my typing speed as an adult?
Yes. The postmen in the best-known typing-training study were aged 19 to 46 and none had used a typewriter before, yet every schedule taught them the full keyboard. In a separate study of experienced adult typists, those who deliberately tried to type quickly in daily use performed best, so improvement does not stop once you can type.
How do I get past a typing speed plateau?
Plateaus usually mean a few weak keys or old habits are holding you back. Find them using the mistyped-key list on your test results and drill those keys. Then push your pace in short bursts slightly faster than is comfortable and slow back down to keep accuracy. Making a habit of typing quickly in everyday use, not just in practice, is the factor research links to the fastest everyday typists.
What typing speed should I aim for?
60 WPM is a good target: faster than about two in three typists in the largest study, and above every official job or exam standard we know of. See our guide on what counts as a good typing speed for the full benchmarks, then measure yours with the free typing test.
Sources
Numbers in square brackets refer to this list. Where we give advice that goes beyond what a source tested, such as the suggested 15 to 30 minutes of daily practice, we say so in the text.
- Dhakal, Feit, Kristensson & Oulasvirta — “Observations on Typing from 136 Million Keystrokes”ACM CHI 2018 · Aalto University and University of Cambridge · link checked 20 Oct 2026
- Feit, Weir & Oulasvirta — “How We Type: Movement Strategies and Performance in Everyday Typing”ACM CHI 2016 · Aalto University · link checked 20 Oct 2026
- Baddeley & Longman — “The Influence of Length and Frequency of Training Session on the Rate of Learning to Type”Ergonomics, 21(8), 627–635 (1978) · link checked 20 Oct 2026
- Keith & Ericsson — “A Deliberate Practice Account of Typing Proficiency in Everyday Typists”Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 13(3), 135–145 (2007) · link checked 20 Oct 2026
- Computer Workstations eTool — KeyboardsU.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration · link checked 20 Oct 2026