3 Steps to Improve Your Typing

Whether you're a professional, student, or homemaker, being able to type well is an important skill. It increases productivity while saving time, and in the workplace, it's often true that the faster you type, the more money you get paid. But whatever your reason is for learning to type better, there are some very simple things you can do to improve your typing ability.

1. Focus on your fingers. Pick up a book or software program that will teach you correct finger placement. You could even take a typing class. Many schools, colleges, and community centers offer free typing classes that meet once or twice weekly or monthly. Take advantage of these. They'll teach you to type correctly, which will in turn, improve your efficiency and productivity. And even though it may feel uncomfortable at first, correct finger placement will help you in the long run.

2. Analyze your accuracy. Correct finger placement will do you no good if your typing is still sloppy. While you don't have to be a champion speller or shoot for 100% accuracy all the time, paying attention to how accurately you can type is important. Think of it as saving yourself time, because that's what this is. If you type things as accurately as you can the first time, you won't have to spend extra time editing later.

3. Spend time speeding. When you feel road rage threatening to overwhelm you, grab your keyboard! Transfer that speed to your typing. Many people will say you should focus on improving your typing speed first. However, doing this may mean you're sacrificing accuracy and efficiency for speed. This seems like fun, because it's fun to type fast! But it isn't nearly as productive as being efficient, accurate, and then speedy.

There are also tests you can take to improve your typing skills. These are free and you can find them online. They usually provide a paragraph and time limit--usually one minute. The object is to type as much of the paragraph as fast as you can in one minute. However, to really get an idea of how efficiently, accurately, and fast you type, take the test while you focus on efficiency, accuracy, and speed at the same time. Yes, this takes some getting used to! But it's well worth the effort.

Improving your typing takes work. It also takes time. But you can improve your typing skills, and the more you practice, the better you'll type.