Learning how to type quickly and accurately isn't easy. There are many pitfalls to dodge and schemes to avoid. To help you succeed, here are 10 common and detrimental mistakes to avoid making when learning how to type properly.
1. Being Too Focused on Speed
Pretty much everyone starts learning how to touch type because they want to type faster. Speed is a natural focus of touch typing right from the get-go, but focusing too heavily on speed won't make you a faster typer.
Key Rule: Focus on accuracy, not speed.
As your accuracy improves, your speed will naturally improve as well. Typing at a much slower speed and not making any mistakes is going to improve your typing much faster than rushing through sentences, making mistakes, and messing up your muscle memory.
2. Neglecting Shift and Punctuation Keys
It's easy to get focused on learning all of the letter keys on a keyboard and being satisfied with just that, looking down each time a period comes up or every time you need to capitalize a letter.
But seriously, keys like the period, comma, and apostrophe are used all the time. You are doing yourself a great disservice by not committing them to your permanent muscle memory. Until you learn these keys, you can't practice typing full sentences, further hurting your progress.
3. Overfocusing on the Top Number Keys
If you're having trouble improving your typing skill, forget about the number keys at the top of the keyboard for now—with one exception: the exclamation point.
It's a good idea to practice the exclamation point as it is used quite often. Aside from that, focus strictly on the letter keys and core punctuation keys. The number keys are used much less often and can be frustrating to master early on.
4. Learning Too Many Keys at Once
Although it might seem like a good idea to jump right in and learn everything all at the same time, trying to memorize too many keys at once may make it hard to memorize any keys at all.
For Beginners: If you have a great memory or are learning to type for the very first time without bad habits to break, the "all-in" methods may work.
For Experienced Typists: If you've already developed a personal typing method and have plateaued, it is much easier to start learning letter by letter, or at least finger by finger. Otherwise, your old habits will slip right back in.
5. Not Investing in a Proper Keyboard
Since you are going to use your typing skills for the rest of your life, you should be using a keyboard that enhances your learning.
Recommendation: Use a mechanical keyboard (like the SteelSeries Apex Pro). With mechanical keyboards, the keys bounce back after you type a letter, giving you touch feedback. This helps let you know that you've typed the letter properly and keeps your fingers in the right position.
What to Avoid: Learning how to touch type on a digital keyboard, tablet, or even low-profile laptop keyboards (like Mac keyboards) is not recommended for beginners.
6. Overusing Your Smartphone
You should avoid using your smartphone for tasks that you can easily do on a computer when you're learning how to touch type. If your computer is nearby, use it for:
Ordering from Amazon
Looking up directions
Googling random questions
No matter how you cut it, you can type faster using your ten fingers than you can using your two thumbs. Curb your smartphone usage and get that extra typing practice.
7. Binge Learning
Learning each letter individually does not mean you should stay up for 72 hours straight trying to master touch typing in just three days.
Muscle memory is a huge part of typing fast and accurately, and muscle memory takes time to build. If you take those 72 hours and spread them out over the course of three months instead of three days, your typing skill will improve much more than just cramming it all down.
8. Using Incorrect Finger Positions
If your goal is to become a speedy typist, correct finger positioning is an absolute must.
You must ensure that your fingers are starting and ending on the home row keys.
You must use the correct designated finger to make each keystroke.
If your starting fingers are off, then you're going to be off for all of the other letters outside of the home row. This is why learning the letters finger by finger is so helpful.
9. Looking Down at the Keyboard
During dedicated practice sessions for touch typing, you should be looking at the keyboard as little as humanly possible.
Tip 1: Print out a finger chart to look at instead of your hands.
Tip 2: Remember that the F and J keys have little ridges on them to help you find the home row without looking.
It can be difficult during everyday tasks, but during your official practice sessions: no looking.
10. Maintaining Bad Physical and Mental Posture
Posture isn't just physical—it's also mental.
Physical Posture: Get a good chair, make sure your computer is at the right eye height, and keep your wrists straight.
Mental Posture: Stop viewing typing as a chore. Once you master it, typing is freeing, liberating, and fun. It allows you to express your thoughts as quickly as you think them. Set a positive mental attitude, focus on the benefits, and celebrate your accomplishments.
Additional Resources
If you want to take your skills to the next level, check out the beginner typing courses and advanced speed strategies on YouTube, and don't forget to practice consistently. Good luck conquering the keyboard!