Ask HN: How to move to typing properly?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4742279

by citricsquid • 14 years ago

7 11 14 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I have been typing with 2 fingers my entire computer using life (7 years) due to never having any formal training. I have typed over 80,000,000 keys in this time and because of how much I type I no longer think of keys it's all muscle memory.

I would like to learn to type "properly" using all my fingers, I have a measured WPM of ~110 using 2 fingers so it should be possible for me to achieve much greater speeds if I were to type properly.

Looking at a large number of online courses they appear to be aimed at people new to using computers. As I have been typing for so long I'm concerned that I may end up in a position where I am only a mediocre "proper" typist and lose the ability to type fast with 2 fingers.

Has anyone changed from typing with 2 fingers to typing using all fingers and if so how did you do it? Are there any techniques for re-learning something in a different way? My google searches return no real help.

phaus• 14 years ago

typingweb.com 10fastfingers.com

Basically, you just have to go through and do the simple letter exercises without looking at the keys. At first you'll be painfully slow, but if you stick with it and go through everything, you'll get your speed back. I went from typing about 60 wpm using all of my fingers and staring at the keyboard to doing 80-100 typing properly in just a few months of 20 minute a day sessions.

I highly recommend making the effort. My personal level of productivity has skyrocketed.

11235813212• 14 years ago

I switched from qwerty to Dvorak and I believe your transition will be similar. I did a typing tutorial, then I printed out a Dvorak layout (you might want to print where your fingers should go) and put it on my desk. Each morning before work I typed out part of an article from the Wall Street Journal. Then, I would type the rest of the day normally. Eventually typing out articles became comfortable and I began to use Dvorak all day. If I had an opportunity to switch cold turkey I would have done that as immersive learning is more efficient, but it was impossible given the nature of my job and I had the benefit of thoroughly comprehending every word of the news.

countessa2• 14 years ago

I switched to Dvorak about 8 years ago - nothing makes you touch type quicker than not being able to refer to the keys printed on the keyboard.

11235813212• 14 years ago

You are right, and I forgot that after a couple of weeks that sheet disappeared, especially so I could master ./C/J/W. However, at first it was necessary so I could get through the article in the half hour I had allowed myself at the beginning of the day. Also, the physical reminder on my desk helped me to set the daily habit of practice.

caw• 14 years ago

I'm fairly certain one of the managers at my old job used to very strongly encourage his interns to type properly. And by very strongly encourage I mean threaten to fire them if they didn't show typing improvement over the semester. I'm not sure he could have legally, but it worked as motivation for those guys. When he came in to the shared office area, he'd point out to them that they were typing wrong. So it's really about the motivation to change (which I think you have), and maybe external reinforcement (tell your coworkers that if they walk over to talk to you and catch you typing with 2 fingers to say something).

Other than that, yes, the Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing programs of the world can help you learn to type. When I first got a computer, I just learned to type by using 1 finger, then 2 fingers, then 2-3 fingers on each hand. I did one of the typing programs and started learning how to type properly. I was nowhere near 110 WPM though improperly, more like 20-40 wpm. 110 with only 2 fingers is pretty beastly :)

GFischer• 14 years ago

I learned using a typing-teacher program as well.

Just took an online test (which made me copy a quote from the Origin of Species) and it gave me a 78 WPM number, so 110 is pretty amazing (and maybe a hurdle to switching).

Test: http://www.typeonline.co.uk/typingspeed.php

codegeek• 14 years ago

I used to be in your exact situation a really long time ago and I fixed it by googling a typing online course. For example

http://www.learntyping.org

http://www.typingstudy.com

It literally took me 2-3 days to start using all fingers properly if you follow the interactive tutorials.

swastik• 14 years ago

I was in the exact same position a few months ago. I wasn't anywhere near 110 WPM though; I think I was 80 WPM for the most part.

I write a lot so all it took me was a conscious decision to use all my ten fingers, even if it made me type a touch slower. I did this for a few weeks, and now I am able to type with all my ten fingers. I still don't use them all the way I'd like to... but I'm certainly better.

I haven't notice a very big change now that I'm using all the other fingers more; I have certainly added a few words per minute but nothing substantial.

lumberjack• 14 years ago

I've been touch typing for 8 years or so and I barely breach 70WPM. I'm inherently clumsy though so that might be something to do with it.

In any case, 110WPM is very fast even for a proper typist. Personally at your stage I wouldn't even bother. It only makes a major difference if you are typing below 30WPM. At that stage you can definitely improve.

Besides, typing speed is not something that is that imperative unless your job is literally typing stuff up.

eshvk• 14 years ago

I went through a bunch of typing tutorials in high school (Mavis Beacon etc). Nothing worked and everything was painful till I encountered a game called Typing of the Dead (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Typing_of_the_Dead ). Three weeks of killing zombies by typing huge words at them forced me to

1) Use proper keys. 2) Learn to type without looking.

Good luck.

Ask HN: How to move to typing properly?

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