Introduction
Whether you are typing 20 WPM or 60 WPM, there is always room to improve. The good news? With the right techniques and consistent practice, most people can double their typing speed within 60 days. This guide covers everything you need to know.
Step 1: Master the Home Row First
The home row keys — A S D F for the left hand and J K L ; for the right hand — are the foundation of touch typing. Your fingers should always return to these keys between keystrokes. If you skip this step, you will hit a ceiling around 40-50 WPM no matter how much you practice.
Spend at least one week exclusively on home row drills before moving to other rows. Use our Lesson 1 to start.
Step 2: Use All Ten Fingers
Most people use only 6-8 fingers and wonder why they cannot go faster. Proper finger placement is:
- Left pinky: A and Q and Z
- Left ring finger: S and W and X
- Left middle finger: D and E and C
- Left index finger: F, G, R, T, V, B
- Right index finger: J, H, U, Y, M, N
- Right middle finger: K and I and ,
- Right ring finger: L and O and .
- Right pinky: ; and P and /
- Thumbs: Spacebar
Step 3: Never Look at the Keyboard
This is the hardest habit to break, but it is the most important. Looking down at the keyboard completely destroys your rhythm and caps your speed. If needed, place a cloth over your hands while practicing.
The first week of not looking will feel terrible. You will make many errors. That is completely normal. Push through it — your muscle memory will build rapidly once you commit.
Step 4: Accuracy Before Speed
This is counterintuitive to many learners: slow down to go faster. When you make an error, you lose more time correcting it than you would have saved by rushing. Aim for 95%+ accuracy, and your speed will naturally increase.
A useful rule: if you are making more than 5 errors per minute, slow down by 10 WPM until your accuracy improves.
Step 5: Practice in Short Bursts Daily
15 minutes of focused daily practice beats a 2-hour session once a week. The brain builds typing muscle memory during sleep — consistent daily training dramatically accelerates improvement.
Recommended schedule:
- 5 minutes: Complete one structured lesson
- 5 minutes: Take a timed typing test
- 5 minutes: Play a typing game
Step 6: Track Your Progress
Create a free TypingSkil account to track your WPM over time. Seeing your progress chart improve is one of the most motivating things you can do. Aim to beat your personal best by 1 WPM per week — that is 52 WPM improvement in a year!
Realistic Speed Milestones
- Week 1-2: 20-30 WPM (if starting from scratch)
- Month 1: 35-45 WPM
- Month 2-3: 50-65 WPM
- Month 6: 70-80 WPM
- Year 1: 80-100 WPM
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Practicing with bad form — this builds bad muscle memory that is hard to unlearn
- Skipping lessons and going straight to speed tests
- Typing only what you already know — challenge yourself with new content
- Not resting — your brain consolidates learning during rest
Conclusion
Improving your typing speed is one of the highest-ROI skills you can develop. With just 15 minutes a day on TypingSkil, you can realistically reach 80 WPM within 6 months. Start today — your future self will thank you.