Tips to Improve Your Typing Speed and Accuracy

Typing is a highly desired skill in the workplace today, and for good reason. Fast, proficient typing skills apply not only to the keyboard of your personal home computer or laptop, but cash registers, calculators, telephones and a variety of other things as well. This is why typing classes are now commonly offered in most schools ranging from kindergarten all the way to college level. But apart from taking classes that can be time consuming or expensive, there are several things you can do to improve not only your typing speed, but your accuracy as well.

For starters, you should always maintain proper posture and body positioning while typing. You should be sitting upright in a chair that is comfortable for you, with both of your feet flat on the floor. Wrists should not be rested on the desk while typing; instead they should remain raised.

Next, try to refrain from using the mouse as much as possible. This is especially true for slower typists who are looking to gain in speed. When typing a sentence and you notice a mistake, instead of using the mouse to reposition the cursor and correct it, use the arrow keys to move the cursor back manually, and then correct your mistake. In addition to this, you can make use of keyboard shortcuts that are found in almost all software applications. Keyboard shortcuts are a combination of keys pressed at the same time that cause something to happen, for example you can save a file, open a file, change font size or almost anything else you could do with the mouse.

Also, remember to use the home row keys as much as possible - they really will improve your speed and accuracy, just like all of your teachers say. Your fingers should rest lightly on the keys "A", "S", "D" and "F" for your left hand, and "J", "K", "L" and ";" for your right hand. When you need to type keys other than these, your fingers should remain in this position; move only the finger necessary to reach the required key.

These are just some very basic tips and techniques at how you can go about improving your typing speed and accuracy. Taking classes offered in your area can help you expand on these techniques, and the work will be much easier for you if you utilize the suggestions offered here. And of course, just like with everything else; practice makes perfect.