After four years of touch typing, I'm still stuck at 45wpm

[Bojan]

I learned to touch type 4 years ago, at age 32. Before that used to hunt-and-peck. I learned to touch type using Klavaro, nice program for Linux. After 3 months of learning and practicing, I reached 45wpm. And today, four years later, I'm still at that speed. According to the stories of other people who have learned to touch type, I should be at 60-80wpm.

I work as Linux andimistrator, web developer and lately as head of IT departement, so I type every day for few hours - both code and text (reports, emails, etc). I have nice Filco keyboard with Cherry MX Blue swithces, blank keys (so I don't waste time looking at keyboard) and nice ergonomic desk. Also, when I'm typing, I don't think about which key to press (in fact, with the exception of F and J, I don't know where is which key, it's pure reflex), so that's not the reason why I'm slow.

I'm pretty frustrated. What's wrong with me? Am I stupid? Do I have some neurological disorder? Everyone seems to type much faster than me after only few weeks of practice.

[tp4tissue]

Hahaha,   It's very unlikely that you've got a medical condition..

Read the section on Burst Memory in my Typing speed guide linked in my signature..

Play 10fastfingers.com, and sign up to use their Advanced mode, because it has longer harder words..

[tp4tissue]

Also, keep in mind..

Productive typing speed is inherently limited by the quantity of USEFUL material you can think of typing.

This is approximately 30wpm,  you simply don't have thoughtful intentions that's worth typing out at a greater average rate than that..


When people talk about speeds of 100-135wpm,   that is ALWAYS transcription speed only.


As in, they're reading off a list of words and typing them.   This is really only a measure of mastery of typing itself, and not a measure of productive output.

[chyros]

Yes, part of the reason why I never bothered to learn to touch-type properly is because I never have to transcribe anything anyway. Especially for scientific stuff the typing speed is very secondary to the rate at which you come up with what to actually say.

[tp4tissue]

Yes, part of the reason why I never bothered to learn to touch-type properly is because I never have to transcribe anything anyway. Especially for scientific stuff the typing speed is very secondary to the rate at which you come up with what to actually say.

Hahahahah..


Well I think ... Proficiency in Keyboard use ultimately only makes for more Verbose forum posters..

The people who has to DO WORK on the keyboard will do it regardless of their mastery..


If a user types slower than his cognitive intent,  then it seems obvious that this person would be less talkative online..


Whereas, POST mastery, you end up with a bunch of Tp4s 

[chyros]

If a user types slower than his cognitive intent,  then it seems obvious that this person would be less talkative online..

Whereas if you type faster than you think, you end up with a bunch of tp threads everywhere .

[DALExSNAIL]

If a user types slower than his cognitive intent,  then it seems obvious that this person would be less talkative online..

Whereas if you type faster than you think, you end up with a bunch of tp threads everywhere .

Sounds very exciting tbh

[Bojan]

Play 10fastfingers.com, and sign up to use their Advanced mode, because it has longer harder words..

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm already playing 10fastfingers in advanced mode. It doesn't help.

Productive typing speed is inherently limited by the quantity of USEFUL material you can think of typing. This is approximately 30wpm,  you simply don't have thoughtful intentions that's worth typing out at a greater average rate than that..

When people talk about speeds of 100-135wpm,  that is ALWAYS transcription speed only.

I'm aware of that. IMHO, touch typing is important not because of speed, but because of more straightforward creative process: while touch typing, I'm not distracted by the act of typing, i.e. my toughts simply appear on the screen.

I don't think that I would be better programmer if I could type 80wpm. Reason why I'm frustrated with 45wpm after 4 year of touch typing is simply because I see all other colleague that have a skill that is, apparently, unattainable to me. Damn, now I sound jealous 

[tp4tissue]

Play 10fastfingers.com, and sign up to use their Advanced mode, because it has longer harder words..

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm already playing 10fastfingers in advanced mode. It doesn't help.

Productive typing speed is inherently limited by the quantity of USEFUL material you can think of typing. This is approximately 30wpm,  you simply don't have thoughtful intentions that's worth typing out at a greater average rate than that..

When people talk about speeds of 100-135wpm,  that is ALWAYS transcription speed only.

I'm aware of that. IMHO, touch typing is important not because of speed, but because of more straightforward creative process: while touch typing, I'm not distracted by the act of typing, i.e. my toughts simply appear on the screen.

I don't think that I would be better programmer if I could type 80wpm. Reason why I'm frustrated with 45wpm after 4 year of touch typing is simply because I see all other colleague that have a skill that is, apparently, unattainable to me. Damn, now I sound jealous 

Make a video of you playing 10 fast fingers..

Let us take a look..

Don't be shy.. /Tp4 no Judge...

[SpAmRaY]

Maybe try a different keyboard?

Or get  the same keyboard with a different switch type?

And ultimately if your current wpm is fast enough for what you do then does it matter?

[tp4tissue]

Maybe try a different keyboard?

Or get  the same keyboard with a different switch type?

And ultimately if your current wpm is fast enough for what you do then does it matter?

Are you suggesting we throw money at the problem

[SpAmRaY]

Maybe try a different keyboard?

Or get  the same keyboard with a different switch type?

And ultimately if your current wpm is fast enough for what you do then does it matter?

Are you suggesting we throw money at the problem

Show Image

He's possibly being distracted by the click from the blue switches so yes.

Maybe typing while listening to music on headphones would also help?

[tp4tissue]

Maybe try a different keyboard?

Or get  the same keyboard with a different switch type?

And ultimately if your current wpm is fast enough for what you do then does it matter?

Are you suggesting we throw money at the problem

Show Image

He's possibly being distracted by the click from the blue switches so yes.

Maybe typing while listening to music on headphones would also help?

I heard that listenting to $800 headphones on a $2000 dac/amp makes you type faster than listening to $50 headphones connected to your ipod.

/Truth

[tp4tissue]

Bojan, did you make the video yet ?

[katushkin]

I type quick when I know what to type. But if I try one of those typing test things I'm always awful because I dont know what I'm typing or it's not structured. I guess it's meant to be like that but it's not really applicable to real life....

[tp4tissue]

I type quick when I know what to type. But if I try one of those typing test things I'm always awful because I dont know what I'm typing or it's not structured. I guess it's meant to be like that but it's not really applicable to real life....

You get faster at the transcription when you forget about -comprehending- what you're typing..

It's like Dance Dance Revolution..  you don't really think about it..

[xondat]

I type quick when I know what to type. But if I try one of those typing test things I'm always awful because I dont know what I'm typing or it's not structured. I guess it's meant to be like that but it's not really applicable to real life....

You get faster at the transcription when you forget about -comprehending- what you're typing..

It's like Dance Dance Revolution..  you don't really think about it..

So you're saying if we stop caring about what we type, we can achieve 140WPM?

[tp4tissue]

I type quick when I know what to type. But if I try one of those typing test things I'm always awful because I dont know what I'm typing or it's not structured. I guess it's meant to be like that but it's not really applicable to real life....

You get faster at the transcription when you forget about -comprehending- what you're typing..

It's like Dance Dance Revolution..  you don't really think about it..

So you're saying if we stop caring about what we type, we can achieve 140WPM?

Well you can do either..


But for 10fastfinger transcription (specifically) you have to stop caring..


For Typeracer, you have to care, because you can predict and memorize what's coming next, so it's easier to speed up that way. you don't have to read it at all..


But because 10fast is unpredictable, you have to read..

[rowdy]

I'll second what SpAmRaY said.

Many people have reported a sometimes significant difference in typing speed when changing to a different switch, and sometimes even just different keycaps.

Someone said you are using MX blues - perhaps try browns or reds.

Or if you feel that the switches are too light, maybe try greens (heavier blues), or blacks or even clears.

[Sifo]

tp4 typically actually knows what he's talking about when it comes to this subject

I'm just here to vouch for his ideology when it comes to typing.

[xondat]

tp4 typically actually knows what he's talking about when it comes to this subject

I'm just here to vouch for his ideology when it comes to typing.

You're the quickest I've hear of.. Did you learn from tp4?

[Bojan]

Someone said you are using MX blues - perhaps try browns or reds.

Or if you feel that the switches are too light, maybe try greens (heavier blues), or blacks or even clears.

Recently I tried browns and blacks (for few minutes, in a shop... mechanical keyboards are very rare in Croatia and also excessively expensive). Didn't like them. They lack crispness. And I don't think that I was faster on them. I didn't have opportunity to try blacks, greens or clears.

I also tried bucklinkg springs last year, and although I liked them and was a bit faster on them, I also had some painful issues after using them (more about that).

[jaffers]

I'd have to say that I don't think its too much of an issue, but I can see where you are coming from in the sense that you want to get faster, I've personally used tp's guide on typing and I found it improved my typing speed a little.

[tp4tissue]

tp4 typically actually knows what he's talking about when it comes to this subject

I'm just here to vouch for his ideology when it comes to typing.

You're the quickest I've hear of.. Did you learn from tp4?

Tp4 does not claim credit for Sifo's speed-ness.. 

 Tp4 merely broke down the components of speed typing into the english language so people can get into it more easily.


In Sifo's case,  it's a combination of dedicated-Practice and Talent..

As far as I know.. breaching the 135wpm is hard,  breaching 155 is even harder...  and the Sifo has done it.

Sifo got one of them bloodline traits from naruto is what I'm saying.. hahaahahhahaha

[Bojan]

Make a video of you playing 10 fast fingers..

Let us take a look..

Here you are, my typing video:

[Moistgun]

Make a video of you playing 10 fast fingers..

Let us take a look..

Here you are, my typing video:

Pretty sure TP wanted to see your hands

[tp4tissue]

Make a video of you playing 10 fast fingers..

Let us take a look..

Here you are, my typing video:

Pretty sure TP wanted to see your hands

That video is sufficient.. I can detect Bojan's typing rhythm from just seeing the pace of certain letters and common digraphs/trigraphs.


Ok, essentially,  your bottleneck is Burst Memory bound.


So, right now, you are visualizing many of the words as letters and single hand motions.


For the Faster players,  they have muscle memory of Longer chains of common letters, which may including entire common words.

NO ONE has muscle memory of uncommon words unless they specifically train on them..



What you can do to speed up quickly at the MOMENT..    Is by typing words in Bursts, don't worry about the next word yet..


When you get to the word,   -  combustion - ...  Stop,  visualize the ENTIRETY of the hand motions that will go into -  combustion -   and type that as fast as you can..


Then look at the next word, and do the same thing..    Don't worry about your total average speed..   Stop to visualize the entire word and type it as fast as possible


Burst each word as fast as you can..

[Bojan]

Ok, essentially,  your bottleneck is Burst Memory bound.

So, right now, you are visualizing many of the words as letters and single hand motions.

What you can do to speed up quickly at the MOMENT..    Is by typing words in Bursts, don't worry about the next word yet..

When you get to the word,   -  combustion - ...  Stop,  visualize the ENTIRETY of the hand motions that will go into -  combustion -   and type that as fast as you can..

Then look at the next word, and do the same thing..    Don't worry about your total average speed..

For now,  Burst each word as fast as you can..

I'll try your suggestions and hopefuly in few weeks/months I'll upload a much faster typing video 

Thank you very much 

[Moistgun]

Make a video of you playing 10 fast fingers..

Let us take a look..

Here you are, my typing video:

Pretty sure TP wanted to see your hands

That video is sufficient.. I can detect Bojan's typing rhythm from just seeing the pace of certain letters and common digraphs/trigraphs.


Ok, essentially,  your bottleneck is Burst Memory bound.


So, right now, you are visualizing many of the words as letters and single hand motions.


For the Faster players,  they have muscle memory of Longer chains of common letters, which may including entire common words.

NO ONE has muscle memory of uncommon words unless they specifically train on them..



What you can do to speed up quickly at the MOMENT..    Is by typing words in Bursts, don't worry about the next word yet..


When you get to the word,   -  combustion - ...  Stop,  visualize the ENTIRETY of the hand motions that will go into -  combustion -   and type that as fast as you can..


Then look at the next word, and do the same thing..    Don't worry about your total average speed..   Stop to visualize the entire word and type it as fast as possible


Burst each word as fast as you can..

Yeah... Uhh. Im gonna test that too.

for... science

[tp4tissue]

Be mindful of the position of your shoulders ..

Make sure to keep them lose..

I notice some guys develop a set of techniques where they Stiffen their shoulders.


This is an Intuitive action for your body to carry out, because it is reducing the number of mobile parts, to increase precision and quick action. The pre-activation of muscles around joints allows for that.


But obviously, this is problematic for LONG practices, because if you attempt to keep your shoulder stiff for half an hour,  that is a sure path to RSI..



Visualize and type as fast as possible ,  but with the looseness of Flowing Water..  Some streams converge fast at the finger level,   Some streams are more Mellow at the shoulder/ elbow level.


--This is as true for Kungfu as it is for Piano.



Feel the key pressure under your hand, and be aware of the entire arm.

[Sifo]

tp4 typically actually knows what he's talking about when it comes to this subject

I'm just here to vouch for his ideology when it comes to typing.

You're the quickest I've hear of.. Did you learn from tp4?

I doubt I'm even top 1 percent in the world :/

Didn't learn from tp4 he just happens to explain how to get faster better than I can so listen to him instead I'm just here to confirm that he isn't entirely nuts.

[kenmai9]

I learned how to type fast at an early age (10-12) while playing Diablo 2.

How? I had to learn how to get my point across through text while also not dying.

It was just a matter of adaptation to be able to type faster while playing the game.

[dead_pixel_design]

I really like this browser based, abstract character string typing trainer

http://www.keybr.com/

you can also use it to review progress, see what letters are your slowest and it guages your accuracy. Allows you to include characters and capitalization as well if you prefer. I came across this when trying to retrain myself to type using all of my proper fingers (historically I only use about 5 fingers) and went from nearly 55WPM down to about 35 when I started to retrain (about a month ago), but have gotten back up to about 40 and am still progressing relatively quickly. 'P's are really rough for me, with my right pinky, and for whatever reason 'E' is the key I mistype more frequently.

Hope this is a helpful website.

But I might also offer that progression isn't linear, you will get to a point where it will take more and more constant practice to get better, eventually to a point where further progress will be unrealistic to achieve, and it is even possible that your maximum realistic typing speed is around 47 where you currently are, unlikely, but possible.

I would also say that since everyone is different you can't expect to achieve what the people around you do, because you are not them, you are you, and you have to find what works for you and accept that. Just like I am sure there are things you excel at where others are frustrated they are not at an equivalent level as you.

I learned how to type fast at an early age (10-12) while playing Diablo 2.
How? I had to learn how to get my point across through text while also not dying.

Hahaha, yes!!! I learned the exact same way, but with Starcraft! Love that!

[tp4tissue]

I think the abstract string practice is a good idea for training cold starts and transitions...

[DALExSNAIL]

I think the abstract string practice is a good idea for training cold starts and transitions...

cold starts and transitions.

I'm confused, learn me.

[tp4tissue]

I think the abstract string practice is a good idea for training cold starts and transitions...

cold starts and transitions.

I'm confused, learn me.

When you type,  there is a Groove which you get into, because most of the time, if it's familiar text or well practiced words,  the transition is smooth and the subsequent word is --somewhat-- predictable.

Cold starting, is for cases where the text / shape of the word is unfamiliar.    Like,  Zucchini,  unless you've practiced this word in the past,   it's not something you have good muscle memory for.

So, if you've practiced random patterns such as  Zuc cuz usz  hini hnni hiin,   this helps ease into the less practiced words..


For transitions, it's when the next word is Very unlikely,  in these cases, your next letter is a surprise, because you never expected those to be together..

By practicing random,  Every next word segment is a surprise, so the training would mitigate the probabilistic friction.

[iri]

Am I stupid? Do I have some neurological disorder?

No. I'm touch typing for far longer than you and my speed is 55wpm.