Typing Plateau

By selfimprovement - updated: 6 years, 7 months ago - 14 messages

So I've been typing for quite some time, now. I've had several typing classes throughout school and took my last 4 years of high school online, play MMOs and various other computer games, and started to practice typing on sites such as this. I've fixed many bad habits that I've made, but now I don't think I'm seeing much improvement, I don't expect it to happen overnight, I know all great things come with time. I've heard the saying "slower is faster" and have applied it to typing as well, but I'm still a little inconsistent. I average at about 100 WPM on Typeracer with an average accuracy of about 94%. I'm not really sure what to do to keep getting faster. Obvious "just keep at it" answers aside, do you guys have any input? Anything is appreciated, thanks in advance!
By selfimprovement - posted: 7 years, 3 months ago

Just a real quick note; I play instant death a ton, but I still make quite a few errors, I know I need to slow down, but even then I still make more errors than I'd expect when typing that slow.
By cassiopee - posted: 7 years, 3 months ago

Maybe use an optimized layout like dvorak.
By dahut - posted: 7 years, 3 months ago

If you do so, brace yourself and be prepared to have a non-gratifying pack of weeks ahead of you. I've switched to bépo (french version of dvorak) two months ago and have been practising every day since. I manage to type about as fast as with my previous disposition but aim to beat it oc. So yeah, be prepared if you choose this path :)
By vigilantvillian - posted: 7 years, 3 months ago

This. I switched when I wasn't obligated to type anything for work or school so I could make the switch cold turkey. That speeds up the process a lot. Then once I was at least 60 or 70 wpm with the new layout I allowed myself to type in QWERTY sometimes. Sometimes it's unavoidable when you're on other machines, you want to game, etc. But at first, you'll be slow, and you'll be frustrated, but you just have to stick with it. I'm faster now than I ever was on QWERTY but I've also been on Colemak for about 2 years now.
By user49603 - posted: 7 years, 2 months ago

You could write down mistakes you make commonly and create a custom typing test to address these specific weaknesses. For me a common error is ingt instead of ing so I will occasionally practice a bunch of words ending in ing for like 20min.

You could study some more advanced techniques typing pros use to save time.

Get really comfortable looking ahead and mentally preparing the transition from the finger positions ending the current word to the beginning of the next word. I sometimes practice looking ahead and saying the next word as I type the current word to try build this habit. Sometimes just visualising the transition.

There are other sites with just random words to type which could help you be more versatile a typist quicker, I sometimes feel the quotes have me anticipating words.

Hand exercises, finger isolation practice, good study habits, don't push too hard, try to keep it interesting, positive reinforcement, frequent breaks and exercise.
By user49603 - posted: 7 years, 2 months ago

I've gotten a 'ergodox' keyboard with the left space button programmed as 'backspace' which I feel helps some. The transition to any improved techniques is tough but generally worthwhile.
By bambam - posted: 7 years, 2 months ago

you can keep trying and never give up okay thank you very much but don't give up you can always can do better at lest you are making 94% i can make 100% but keep trying and you can make 100% on that typing test just keep doing it over and over you never be a quiter ever okay you can always do it i now you can and now you half to belive in yourself and no one can tell you wrong all you half to do is let yourself belive and that is how much you need the way got so good at it is that i belived in myself and that is all you will need to be good at it okay dont get on here and say you cant do it because i now you can and your family members belive in you to and if they dont i bet you teacher will belive in you so come on you can do it. One of the reason how i got so good is that my mom motivated me to do it and that should be enough for you okay never say you cant always say i can do it and the devil not going to bet me god is doing his job so go pick on another girl and not me okay because you can do it and i belive in you and all you half to do now is for you to belive in yourself and i now i already said this but you can do it so only don't come back here until you have got in a 100% okay girl show me you can do it okay thank you, PLEASE DO WHAT I SAID I AM DOING THIS FOR THE BEST OKAY THANK YOU OKAY SO PLEASE I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT OKAY THANK YOU AGAIN AND YOU CAN DO IT.
By user49603 - posted: 7 years, 2 months ago

Oh yes bambam, don't stop believing, hold on to that feeling. This is the most important step.
By user551457 - posted: 6 years, 8 months ago

Omg ! this comment made my day, please post this as a quote XD!
By ultra_penguin - posted: 6 years, 8 months ago

Thx bambam. You have inspired me.
Updated 6 years, 8 months ago
By jdcunningham09 - posted: 6 years, 7 months ago

I feel like once you hit 100wpm, you're going to hit a plateau naturally. 100+ is officially the "big boys club", and at that point, any gained speed is going to be a grind. Personally, I'm at about 90-100 right now (with the occasional fart where I pull below 80 and tank my average), and I'm quite happy with it. It's already so fast that I can't imagine you'd ever NEED to type faster, unless you're a software coder or something.
By spacebarsmasher - posted: 6 years, 7 months ago

Wow dis dude needa practice more periods lol
By user551457 - posted: 6 years, 7 months ago

wow.... did I just read the script of a shounen anime. Lol!
By user282294 - posted: 6 years, 7 months ago

100 wpm is more than you'll probably ever need in real life. Remember that there are two big differences between typing tests such as this and real-world usage:
1- In a typing test you put all your concentration into going as fast as possible (by of course making as few mistakes as possible), but I bet that you would be hard pressed to remember much of anything about what you just typed as there is no thought process involved, just muscle memory. In real world situations you are going to have to think about what you are writing wich of course slows you down significantly.
2- In real world you won't get a big warning when you make a mistake, so you are going to have to pay closer attention to what is actually appearing on screen less you end up with a bunch of typos all over the place, and that's not counting all the grammar and spelling, so this will of course also significantly slow you down.
Basically what i'm trying to get at is that unless you're mindlessly copying a text in some kind of program that immediately compares the original text to your copy and points out your mistakes (aka a typing test) it's unlikely you'll be able to go over the 60~70 wpm, and even that would be impressive.
So I think your best bet is not to worry about speed anymore as 100wpm is more than enough, and start really concentrating on accuracy and consistency.