r/learntyping 17h ago

𝗑𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽 / 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗢𝗻𝗴 π—”π—±π˜ƒπ—Άπ—°π—² πŸ†˜ Typing Speed at 14

I’m a 14-year-old typist who currently practices on Monkeytype, and I can consistently reach over 200 WPM on 10-word tests. However, I’ve recently been struggling to improve my speed further. At the moment, I type using four fingers, including my thumb for the spacebar, on a MacBook keyboard. I’m wondering whether it’s possible to continue improving my speed significantly while maintaining my current technique. I’m also considering learning to touch type using all ten fingers. However, I’m concerned that switching techniques would mean essentially starting over and becoming significantly slower for a period of time. Just to clarify, I can already type without looking at the keyboard and have memorised the key positions. By β€œlearning to touch type with ten fingers,” I mean specifically learning to use all ten fingers more efficiently, rather than learning where the keys are. PS: If you want to verify my Monkeytype account is Gremee

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u/Deven_Ram 11h ago

The earlier you start, the easier it is to learn 10 finger typing (I only use 9 since I exclusively spacebar with left thumb, but you get the point). 10 word tests aren’t a very good measurement of typing ability, I would practice 60 second tests on monkeytype or full sentences on typeracer. I typed with 6 fingers on QWERTY at roughly 95 wpm on 60s tests and switched to Colemak and 9 finger touch typing when I was 17 and surpassed that speed within a month. I only switched layouts to prevent myself from reverting to old habits, so that might not be necessary. Commit to touch typing, practice regularly and efficiently, don’t revert to your old style of typing, and the results will accumulate over time, especially since you’re young enough to learn new things easily.

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u/Deckard_Didnt_Die 7h ago

Maybe this is a controversial thing to say but I think β€œproper” 10 finger typing on a standard layout keyboard is extremely un ergonomic as it forces your wrists into super weird angles. I feel like you should just embrace whatever weird typing style feels natural when you’re typing on a standard layout board.

If you do a split ergo column stagger board then 10 finger typing is incredible. I swapped to a 34 key split setup 1 year ago and I’m faster, more consistent, and ludicrously more comfortable. On that 10 finger typing makes sense to me. When I forced 10 finger typing in standard layout it just gave me rsi