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Ask HN: How do I break through the plateau in touch typing speed?

6 points by amjith ↗ HN
I can touch type without looking at the keyboard. But my typing speed hovers around 55 wpm. I've tried various programs and practiced every night for a month without any progress.

How do I break through the plateau? Are there techniques or applications designed for this specific task?

11 comments

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dozzie
What's wrong with your current typing speed? It's more than people usually have. Do you feel it drags you down for some reason?
amjith
I've been living with the current speed for 10 years now. I do feel like it is dragging me down a bit. Especially when I pair program with coworkers and I see how fast they can type, I feel like I could be doing better.
dozzie
I type at 65+ WPM, so a little faster than you. And I'll tell you what, it's not the typing speed that irritates me whenever I and one of my colleagues work with the same screen (me looking at somebody's hands). It's not even how effectively they use their code editor (although it used to). It's how fast they can follow my reasoning, my instructions, and how effectively they solve my steering questions (I have this (bad?) habit of making my colleague to come to a conclusion on his own) [&].

I don't think any of your colleagues considers it a problem that you type slower than them, and to me, faster typing is more of a party trick than a necessary skill.

Of course I understand that my comment here may not ease your mind in the matter if you happen to want to actually type faster (as opposed to wanting not to be burden for colleagues). Unfortunately, I can't offer you much of an advice, barring maybe seconding the howlett's comment about looking a word ahead of your current position.

[&] Now that I think of it, the speed of following is probably much more on the side of me not knowing how to pack more precise information and my thought process into sentences than anything else.

StClaire
I pushed from ≈55wpm to ≈75wpm. You just have to consistently type slightly faster than you're comfortable with. You'll make more mistakes but gradually less and less. Good luck
JoshCole
Have you tried http://play.typeracer.com/? It is a lot of fun compared to some typing practice, since its competitive. My typing speed is about 100 WPM for what its worth. I don't think I owe my typing speed to the site. I just like it.
howlett
I never took lessons in touch typing and I learned to do it by simply spending too much time on the computer. I think the keyboard plays a big role as well, on a laptop I'm usually around 55-60wpm and on my desktop around 75-80wpm.

Also, when you type try to look/think at the _next_ word from the one you're currently typing, I've found that works for me.

jsz0
I wouldn't worry much about it. Typing fast isn't as productive as it looks. When I'm motivated I can easily exceed 100wpm but the quality of my code/writing suffers as my speed increases. Not the accuracy (although some) but the actual quality of the content gets very noticably worse. I often have to throw away the first draft because it's too poorly structured and/or meandering to save with editing. Typing fast is good for things like note taking or dictation but for everything else you're better off typing at a more deliberate pace.

If you do want to increase your raw speed though try joining some fast paced IRC or Slack chats. Back in the old days we used to joke that IRC was the best version of Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. If nothing else helps you may need to try a different keyboard or improve your ergonomics. The leap from 50-60wpm to 80-100wpm is a difference of split seconds per key press so things like key travel and comfort are important.

tabeth
I used to be about 40wpm. I started playing Typing of the Dead[1], and now I'm at about 125wpm. I won't say that the game made me a faster typist, but I will say that practice makes perfect and playing the game is a very enjoyable way to practice.

[1] http://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/246580/

whichdan
Have you tried using a completely different keyboard layout like Dvorak? The change might force your muscle memory to reset.

That, and like jsz0 recommended, a different keyboard might help.

kahrkunne
Typing much faster than that is more of a gimmick you can brag about than a useful skill. I say that as someone who can type at 135 WPM.

As for actual advice, I couldn't help you - I learned typing fast by playing runescape.

Ritjert
My typing speed is about the same as yours. But since I started learning how to code I figured it would be useful if I could type faster.

I started using ratatype.com daily. If you're self taught you may not be typing optimally (used MSN messenger to learn how to type).

At first you'll obviously be a lot slower but eventually learning how to type correctly helped me get past that local maximum.

(This is all assuming you aren't typing the correct way RN)