We live in the age of touchscreens and swipe keyboards, so is typing still a big deal? Turns out, yeah, it is.
The average worker types around 3,500 words per day on emails, IMs, and more. Improve your typing speed and you can get through your work a lot faster. That means greater employee productivity which your company will love.
But in typing, speed is nothing without accuracy. Let us guide you through how to improve your typing accuracy, and say hello to greater productivity.
On Your Marks, Get Set, Go!
Accurate typing begins with getting your hands in the right place.
Keyboards very helpfully come with two little ridges to help you position your hands correctly. Place your left index finger on the ridge on the letter F. Now, place your right index finger on the ridge on the letter J.
Allow your fingers to naturally rest on the keys to either side of these two letters. Use either thumb on the space bar.
Stop Looking At the Keyboard
OK, we hear you. This might sound counterintuitive when we’re talking about improving our accuracy. But actually, you’ll never become a fast and accurate typist if you don’t move your gaze away from the keyboard.
Your brain and fingers have an incredible capacity for cognitive automaticity. This is the ability to practice skills to the point where you don’t have to think about them.
Just think about the hands of a concert pianist dancing over the keys without looking at their hands or making a mistake. You can become a concert typist – you know what we mean.
Focus on the screen and correct errors as you go. As you do this, you’re training your fingers to hit their marks more accurately.
Practice, Practice, Practice
You just need to practice, build up the connections in your brain, and let your fingers find their marks effortlessly.
With a few minutes of practice each day, you can achieve this faster than you would imagine. Even better – push through the pain barrier, and don’t allow yourself to ‘hunt and peck’ anymore. In a few short days, you’ll be flying over the keys, making far fewer mistakes than you did before.
This is a great skill for anyone who works on computers all day, even programmers. Whether you’re typing C# generate PDF tasks or banging out reports, accurate typing will get your work done faster.
Keyboard Styles Matter
To really up your typing accuracy, consider investing in an ergonomic keyboard. This type of keyboard divides the keys into two sections, one for each hand.
An ergonomic keyboard allows you to type with your hands in a more natural position. Not only is this great for your body, but it also allows you to type more accurately for longer periods of time.
Smart management teams are aware of the benefits of ergonomic keyboards. Some companies now supply them to help their workers stay healthy and productive.
Boost Productivity by Improving Typing Accuracy
The more you improve your typing accuracy, the more productive you will be.
Whether you’re an office worker, programmer, or writer, professional typing skills will really set you apart from the crowd. It takes a small investment of time and effort to learn these skills, but it will repay you with hours, days, and weeks of saved time!
Have you enjoyed this article? We’ve got plenty more for you! Head over to our Self Improvement section for more great hints and tips today!
