A Guide to Fast Typing

Practicing typing on a keyboard is one of my favorite ways to waste time. From the point of having decided to learn the Dvorak keyboard layout to up until now, I have acquired a steady speed of around 120 Words Per Minute (WPM). While this does not compete with worldwide champions (who are able to reach speeds of over 200 WPM; for context, average typing speed is considered to be around 40 WPM), I do believe that I'm at a point where I can give a useful pieces of information to people who are either starting out with touch typing, or are already decent at it and are just looking for a few tips on improving.

Note: This blog post has been written without the use of generative AI.

Why become better at typing?

Before continuing, I do think it is important to consider the reasons why one might learn to get a good typing speed. Beyond just the obvious "being able to get work done faster"-point, I think there is one part of fast typing that I feel like people tend to overlook, which is that it helps to reduce the brain to text barrier. If you are able to type basically as quickly as you are able to think, all the time you will spend on writing anything, be it a journal, some story, computer code, or just a chat with your friends, is actually spent on thinking, rather than typing. Compare that to, say, being able to talk about a certain topic in an in-person conversation with a friend, you generally don't have to think about talking, and you don't feel like the fact that you speak your words out loud hinder you much. Now, of course, there exist tools like speech to text, which can help to remove that barrier for you, however, let's be honest, how often is this really useful? Point is, if you spend a lot of time on a computer, the more you are able to reduce the barrier between wanting to do something and actually doing it, the more productive and motivated you will become.

Keyboard layout

The first step is to decide on a keyboard layout. This is a decision that is likely to stick with you for a long time to say the least, so it's important to educate yourself and weigh the pros and cons of different layouts.

You might have heard already that QWERTY's roots stem from the alphabet and typewriters and that, given modern standards, it is quite inefficient and not ergonomic. However, despite common claim, the raw speed benefit in comparison to other layouts is debatable. However, as many other alternative keyboard users will agree, the benefit of other layouts lies a lot more in ergonomics and typing comfort rather than just speed. This is because, generally, most of the time taken in typing is not taken up with raw finger movement, but rather, the brain having to figure out the correct way to move the fingers to the desired position. While I figure that for faster typing speeds it is going to be more relevant than when you're starting out, given the right method (as will be discussed in this article), it is certainly possible to reach an excellent typing speed regardless of layout.

However, I would still certainly encourage you try an alterative keyboard layout, even if it might be a hassle to learn at first. I was able to type a steady 70WPM with QWERTY when I decided to make the switch to Dvorak, and, while I don't like thinking back to that period when I was starting to learn Dvorak but also starting to slowly unlearn QWERTY and I was really bad at both, I'm glad I decided to drop QWERTY in favor of something more ergonomic for good. Well, for the most part, that is. An important thing to note is that, no matter how much you may try to get into alternative keyboard layouts, you will likely never be able to escape QWERTY completely. While a few do account for it, most video games still expect QWERTY or require you to manually set the layout. Another example is if you are to use someone else's computer, or, on the flip side, someone else wants to use your computer. While switching a layout is generally a simple keyboard combination (in Windows it's generally ❖␣), it's still an important thing to consider. However, once you are quick at typing with one layout, learning others is generally significantly easier. Learning a new layout does not mean you have to forget your old one(s).

With that out of the way, here are some keyboard layouts I find to be worth considering (with the addition of QWERTY as comparison):

• QWERTY: Standard everywhere, you won't run into issues specifically because of it. However, it is also significantly less ergonomic than the other layouts here.
• Dvorak: While it arguably lags behind other alternative layouts in terms of ergonomics, I would still say that it is the most supported one. This is the layout I mainly use, and my reasoning for having chosen it was because it was the only alternative one that was supported by Windows at the time, which was an important factor for me, as it would mean that I could also use the layout on a school computer without any admin privileges.
• Colemak: Generally considered to be slightly more ergonomic than Dvorak, it also has the pro of being a easier to learn for people who are used to QWERTY, as many keys, including ones commonly used for shortcuts such as Z, X, C, and V, are the same. It has also quite recently finally gained native support in modern Windows versions, and, from what I know, is alongside Dvorak the only alternative keyboard layout that has. Even though I have never used it myself, I would probably recommend this one for general use, as it is still fairly widely supported.
• Graphite: Of the layouts I could find, this one is supposedly one of the best. Native support is, unsurprisingly, basically nonexistent, as this one was released in 2023. I doubt that even Linux distros support it natively, I haven't checked, though. However, keep in mind that for modern layouts like this, it depends a lot on personal preference and the difference is generally very miniscule. There actually exist a loooot of alternative keyboard layouts, some of which being weirder than others. You can find a cool comparison on modern layouts on this site.

Getting started

First things first, you will have to get comfortable with touch typing in your layout. For this, just look up some typing tutorial website which slowly teaches you all of the individual keys that speaks to you and that supports your layout, there really are a couple out there. However, there are definitely some things to note:

• Never look at your keyboard. You might have already heard this before, but it really is crucial. The keys on the keyboard are not going to move, so it makes no sense to be searching for them constantly. This is also why, if you would like to use an alternative keyboard, it is generally a bad idea to physically move the keycaps around. Most importantly, if you notice that you have forgotten the position of a key, make it a habit to take a few seconds to remember where it was, rather than to look down. If you're still struggling with it, I suggest to maybe put a towel or small blanket over your hands while you're typing.
• Go for accuracy. The first step is just to get the layout and key positions into your mind, not to actually become quick. However, I'm not actually going to give you a number of how much accuracy you should be aiming for. While some sites suggest >98%, I think that is way too high to be reasonable at a slow speed. The important part is not actually the accuracy per-se, but it is that you form good habits and notice and correct your mistakes.
• Do not treat the instructions as holy. This will be an important point later on in the guide, however I'd already like to make that clear. You'll likely learn to type to press certain keys with certain fingers, then move those back to the home row, and so on. While these are great as general guides, it is important for you to already learn to develop your own style and take shortcuts wherever possible. The only important thing here is, aside from not looking at the keyboard, is to use as many of your fingers to the fullest as possible, which would ideally be all nine available fingers (I'm assuming you won't using both of your thumbs for the space bar). Point is, if you ever feel like you could type a certain thing in a better way, go for it. This is especially true for QWERTY.
• Spread out your learning. This too will be an important part later on as well. You're not going to learn it all in one sitting. Once your mind starts to get foggy and you start to confuse letters is when it is time to take a break. While typing will certainly come naturally and automatically later on, that is not the case when you're starting out, so you really need to aware of that.
• Check the next step when you know all the letters. This first step is only for getting the letters and general positions into your mind. Even when you're still slow, you should already start to type actual words rather than get stuck with typing random letters.

Practicing tips

Here, I will assume you are already comfortable enough with all main keys of your keyboard and to already have at least some sort of muscle memory for them. If there's one or two keys you're still not too comfortable with, that's alright. Here are some tips to move forward:

• Choose a good typing website: The closer a typing practice website manages to get to reality, the better. This is why I would highly recommend websites like Typeracer, because, other than the fact that racing against other people is fun, it has two good advantages: You type real quotes (which are often also quite interesting in of itself) as opposed to just random words, and it forces you to correct your mistakes. Also, I'll have to mention typelit.io as well, because why read a book when you can type it? Anyways, you might also find something else to better suit your needs, as always there is a lot out there, so feel free to look around for something you like.
• Type entire words: Start to think of typing as less about the individual letters and more about entire words. You'll be able to type some words a lot faster than others, which is fine. If there's a word you know you're going to struggle a little with, slow down and go for accuracy. However, for most words, it's likely not a good idea to go for accuracy alone. Rather, try to find a balance between typing quickly and making as few mistakes as possible.
• Concentrate while typing and take breaks: Something that I have found helps a ton with getting faster is to actively concentrate on what you're typing. Even though early on, when you are just beginning to learn to type, you are basically forced to concentrate heavily on each letter, what I've seen from myself is that later on there's a tendency to leave it more up to muscle memory rather than actively trying to be as quick and accurate as possible. Once you start to make a lot more mistakes than usual and you notice your ability to concentrate is dropping off, it's time to take a break and do something else for a while.
• Be patient. It takes a long damn time to learn how to write quickly, just like learning to play an instrument well. Your speed is going to fluctuate heavily based on concentration, mood, the text you're writing and the keyboard you're using. However, if you do things right, over time there will be a noticeable improvement, even if it sometimes doesn't feel like it.
• Optimize your typing: Important for every keyboard layout but especially QWERTY is the fact that many letter combinations can be kind of awkward if you type them in the traditional way (where each key is assigned to a single finger). An example of this is the letter combination "tr" or "rt", where you might have learnt to type both the "t" and the "r" key with your index finger. However, if you instead type only the letter "t" with the index finger, but the letter "r" with your middle finger, you may notice how much less of a hassle typing this combination is. Optimizations like these can become really complex, you may even develop optimizations for a few specific word stems. Point is, while typing, your fingers move around a lot, and as a result they might sometimes be in a position where the rules can be slightly different. If you notice the word you just typed felt a little awkward, maybe try typing it slowly a different way and see if that improves things.
• Don't be afraid to type. Everything you type on a computer, no matter if that is in a work, school, or private setting, can be typing practice if done correctly. Make use of that fact, and don't be afraid to type longer pieces of text about something that is important to you. Or about something that is not, it really doesn't matter. Something I like to do is to just open up notepad and start typing about whatever comes into my mind, with the only rule being to not stop for more than a few seconds at max. I encourage you to try it out yourself, even if you do not have anything in mind at the moment.
• Use a good keyboard. Not only are mechanical keyboards commonly seen as the best option for typing comfort, there are also a ton of different models and sizes to choose from, and, most importantly, many different switches to give a different feel and sound when typing.

That's about all of the tips I could think of for this article. If you have other tips, or I made a mistake you would like to have corrected, feel free to let me know. Happy typing! :)

Created: 2/19/2026, last updated: 2/19/2026

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