Since I was a kid, I have been postponing learning to touch type. Touch typing is the kind of skill that you know you should master, but you don’t want to do it. In my case I had several reasons to not to learn to touch type. For example, in my eyes, touch typing does not bring status and instead might be related to lower status jobs. I also was hesitant to touch type because I did not know how to start. In addition I thought there were more important things to master, like coding or finishing school. Besides, when you have typed for all your life you may type considerably fast, like a monkey, but fast.
What give me the initial push to touch type, was trying to use tools like Vim or Ranger. To enjoy the benefits of this programs, you should put your hands in the home row (left hand in ASDF and right hand in JKL;). Just for curiosities’ sake I tried putting my right hand in home row just to move around with Vim, and it felt completely ackward. I said to myself that I will give it a try to use HJKL instead of the arrow keys.
With some hours of trying, I noticed that I was not able to type at all. I was used to typing characters with the left hand that now I can’t access because my right hand is blocking my left hand (and the other way around). What happened was that because I had an adhoc technique, my typing movements were really estrange. Some times I typed certain letters with one hand, and some times I typed the same letters with another hand.
I decided then to learn once and for all to touch-type so that I can take advantage of the Vim keybindings and also be able to type faster in other settings as well. As well as removing the shame of typing like a monkey.
It has been a year since then, and I think I am rather comfortable with touch typing and I want to share with you my experience.
Can I type faster than before? I think I type at the same speed, around 40-60 WPM.
Is it more pleasant to touch-type? Yes and No. Yes for the following reasons: First, touch typing is cool in itself, it feels like you are doing things right. Second, every time you have to type it feels like if you were playing, or like you had the chance of practicing again a musical instrument. Third, it is cool not to look at the keyboard (though I still do sometimes for specific symbols). Four, using applications with Vim keybindings like Vim or Ranger (a terminal file manager) is indeed considerably more pleasant.
But, it is not more pleasant for one reason. There are plenty of words that do not feel comfortable in the left hand. I can’t recall which, but those words that are composed mostly by left-hand characters (like the words ‘characters’) are not pleasant to type. I think, however, that the problem is not touch-typing but the QWERTY layout (maybe DVORAK could be better.)
How did I learn to touch type? Doing the exercises in www.typingclub.com.
How much time does it take to learn to touch-type? I checked my progress in www.typingclub.com and I saw that by the third week I already was able to type at 38 wpm. It is not super fast, but at least you can be productive. I must say that in these 3 weeks I practiced between 10 and 15 hours. It was a lot, but I was very passionate about learning to touch-type.
What is my current speed? My current speed, typing relatively easy words with a low number of symbols, its around 60-70 wpm. With higher complexity texts I am slower than 60wpm. I must say that until today, I have spent 26 hours doing the typing club exercises. I finished all the 684 exercises, and now I am doing them again to ensure that I have 5 stars in each exercise.
What is your speed goal? My speed goal now is around 80wpm. My dream would be 100wpm, if I reach this speed I can happily go to see Jesus.
Would you recommend touch typing for someone else? I think I will recommend it because in a matter of one month you can be perfectly comfortable with touch typing. It is a small investment that could give you a profit for a lifetime. Think of it like receiving small payments every hour, every day until you are 80 years old. Despite the fact that the gains are small, the fact that is something you do everyday makes it worthwhile!
