Many will have you believe that learning to type is a complicated process, involving slow, incremental lessons.

I propose that the best way is the simplest way.

Fundamentally, your goal is create a habit. That habit is typing a very specific way.

The way you make something a habit is by doing it over and over.

Suppose you take an incremental approach: then, it is only when you reach the very end of the program that you actually start practicing the method you set out to learn.

Until then, you are constantly learning new habits only to unlearn them later.

Why can't you simply practice exactly the method you want to learn from the very beginning?

Actually, you can.

That is how I taught myself and several others to type.

Thanks for reading!

FAQs

I can't touch type yet because I don't know where the keys are or which fingers are supposed to hit them.

How do I memorize the keyboard layout and which fingers hit which keys?

Below is a cheat sheet of the keyboard layout and which fingers hit which keys. Save the image and have it on your screen at all times (you can even print it out).

Now you never have to look at your keyboard again!

Touch typing with strict fingering cheat sheet

Be aware that this is a temporary crutch. Every time you look for a key, make an effort to do it from memory. It should only take a few days before you can ditch this cheat sheet. If after a few days you still need it, you have probably let yourself get a little too comfortable using it.

Note: You could argue that this is an intermediate habit and thus goes against my original claim that you can practice the correct habit from the very beginning. In a way, you would be correct. If you really want, you can memorize the cheat sheet before ever touching the keyboard.

How do I get my hands in position without looking at the keyboard?

Your keyboard very likely has little nubs on the F and J keys. This allows you to find them without looking.

By default, it is easiest to rest your index finders on F and J, middle fingers on D and K, ring fingers on S and L, and pinkies on A and ;. This is called "home row", as you can think of it as the home for your fingers - this is where they go back to when they are not busy.

If I do this I will type excruciatingly slow at first, which I can't afford due to work/school.

How do I learn touch typing without losing my current speed?

Because you are really only trying to learn one new habit and it is probably quite different from how you are typing now, you can actually just keep the two typing methods separate in your brain.

Keep typing your old way at work/school, making no effort to change it. Then, have dedicated practice sessions regularly where you practice perfect form.

If you can use a different keyboard for your old way and new way, that will help (especially if they are significantly different, like a laptop keyboard and a mechanical keyboard).

Regardless, the foolproof way is this:

In every practice session:

• Type a bit the new way, say 30 seconds. Then type another 30 seconds the old way.

• Then type a bit longer the new way, say 1 minute. Then type 30 seconds the old way.

• Then type a bit longer the new way, say 2 minutes. Then type 30 seconds the old way.

• Then type a bit longer the new way, say 4 minutes. Then type 30 seconds the old way.

The segments don't need to go longer than, say, 10 minutes.

If you find yourself scrambled when typing the old way, just give yourself more than the 30 seconds until it feels fine again. In fact, tweak any part of this procedure to suit your own brain.

How much should I practice to learn touch typing?

Try to get in a dedicated practice session at least 15 minutes long each day (undistracted!).

How many days it takes to reach a typing speed depends on your brain and your dedication but you can expect to be comfortable typing properly within a couple weeks at most.

Does this strategy actually work?

Yes. I have taught myself and several others how to type with this method.

It is very frustrating at first but it doesn't even take long before it becomes comfortable and even fun.

The most important thing to remember:

NEVER CHEAT!

Seriously.

NEVER CHEAT!

At first, it will be very tempting to look at the keyboard sometimes.

NEVER CHEAT!

At first, it will be very tempting to use the wrong finger sometimes.

NEVER CHEAT!

The habit you practice is the habit you create.

If you allow yourself to cheat sometimes, you are practicing the wrong habit. You will therefore create the wrong habit.

The habit you practice is the habit you create.

NEVER CHEAT!

What is the best website for learning typing?

You need a site that makes you type realistic text, where the typing mechanics are realistic, and where your speed is measured.

I made the site Typing HQ to fulfill these requirements.

Use these settings: standard typing test, standard mistake mode, 30 seconds duration.

I also added features for fine-tuning your skills once you have the basics down, some of which I couldn't find anywhere else:

• The punish and really punish mistake modes help you improve your accuracy

• The hard words typing test makes you more well-rounded by making you type words you've probably never typed before

• The torture typing test lets you directly practice every number and symbol on your keyboard

• Multiplayer mode lets you race against other people, further pushing you to type faster

Example of a typing test. Text is presented and you type it as fast as you can!

There are two shifts on my keyboard.

Which shift do I use and when?

Press shift with the opposite hand of the one typing the letter that needs to be capitalized.

Is touch typing with strict fingering actually the best way to type?

TL;DR: Yes.

Touch typing is technically just typing without looking at the keyboard. Usually people also interpret it as being "proper", for example using all fingers to type.

Strict fingering means each key can be pressed by one and only one finger.

Most believe that this is the best way to type. Yet if you think about it deeper, this method has some issues. Most notably:

Pressing multiple keys in succession with the same finger is slow.

For example, consider typing "decided" with strict fingering:

• First, LMF (your left middle finger) presses d

• Then LMF lifts up

• Then LMF moves to the e key

• Then LMF presses it

• Then LMF lifts up

• Then LMF moves down to the c key

• Then LMF presses it...

There is a physical limit to how quickly you can type 3 letters with the same finger, and it is quite slow.

Now, consider typing "power" with strict fingering. As a seasoned typist, you don't need to wait for your right pinky to move to, press, and lift up from the p key before you do anything else. Instead, you move your right pinky to p, right ring to o, left ring to w, left middle to e, and left index to r, all at the same time. Then you press them all at effectively the same time.

With strict fingering, no amount of practice will enable you to type "decided" anywhere near as fast as "power".

Theoretically, if you ditched strict fingering you could, for example, use left middle for d, left ring for e, and left index for c, enabling you to type "decided" much faster than with strict fingering.

However, this gets very complex, especially at high speeds. Now you have to look farther ahead, figure out the optimal finger-use sequence, then type it in the correct order, taking into account where each finger is coming from and what position your hand will be in, all while looking ahead and analyzing the next sequences...

With strict fingering, you probably won't become the number one fastest typist in the world. But the ceiling won't come into play until well over 100 WPM (words per minute). That's plenty fast.

It is much easier to reach 100, or even 150 WPM with strict fingering. Just maybe not 200.

I would love to hear from you! Feel free to send your questions, comments, stories to support@kbd0.com