Typing has become a critical skill for everyone in this digital age. Whether you are a student, a professional, or a content creator, having fast and accurate typing is a skill that can help you save hours each week. The most important and direct indicator of how efficiently you can type is your Words Per Minute (WPM) rate. Improving your WPM can help enhance your typing efficiency, and if you feel like you are stuck at a plateau or just starting out, then here are some proven typing tricks that can help to instantly boost your WPM.
Master the Home Row Technique
The most important trick to boost your WPM rate is to master the home row typing technique. The home row typing technique involves anchoring your fingers on the home row keys, which include A, S, D, and F for the left hand, and J, K, L, and ; for the right. Placing your finger on these keys can act as your typing base, and it minimizes finger movement, increases muscle memory, and makes navigation to other keys quicker.
If you have ever taken a formal typing course, you would be familiar with the home row placement as well. Training your hands to instinctively return to the home row will help to develop fluidity and consistency, which are the foundation of higher WPM.
Stop Looking at the Keyboard
One of the most common bad habits that can slow down your typing speed and WPM rate is the instinct to look at the keyboard while typing. If you are looking at the keyboard every time you are typing, then your rhythm will be disrupted, and you will lose your focus and concentration. The best way to get rid of this habit is to learn touch typing.
Touch typing is one of the most important skills for boosting your typing speed and accuracy and involves typing without looking at the keyboard, relying purely on muscle memory. To train yourself to stop looking at the keyboard while typing, use a blank keyboard cover, cover your hands with a light cloth, and take typing tests on a regular basis. Once your muscle memory starts to develop, your typing WPM will increase significantly on its own.
Practice With High-Frequency Words
Practising daily with high-frequency words can improve your WPM rate as well. Commonly used high-frequency words include “and, the, that, because, for example, do, get, make, this,” etc. By using these common words in your typing exercises, you can type these words more effortlessly. This will help you to improve your overall WPM without even feeling that you are trying because these are the words that you will use every day on multiple occasions.
Use All Ten Fingers For Typing
Using all ten fingers to type can also boost your WPM rate. If you are typing using only 4-6 fingers, then you are putting a speed limit on your hands. The keyboard layout is designed in such a way that each finger will cover specific keys. When you are using some fingers and neglecting certain fingers, such as the pinky fingers or ring fingers, then you are overloading other fingers and slowing down your typing speed.
Using all ten fingers for typing will balance workload across both hands and all keys, and there will be less movement per finger, leading to faster key retrieval. To use all ten fingers for typing, retain yourself by using guided lessons that highlight which fingers should press which keys, and take a 1 Minute Typing Test while using all ten fingers to improve your muscle memory.
Focus on Rhythm Over Speed
Most people think that typing fast means hitting keys as rapidly as you could; however, the real key to typing speed is consistency and rhythm. To improve your typing WPM, you should develop a steady typing rhythm that will allow your mind and fingers to enter a flow state, where you are neither thinking too hard nor stumbling over your hands.
To improve rhythm, consider typing to the beat of an instrumental track, aim for consistency in keystrokes, and improve your pace only when your accuracy is above 95%. Most fast typists employ this technique to build a natural rhythm that keeps the momentum going without sacrificing accuracy.
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