Why Can't I Type Fast?

Try getting speed building programs. I'm now going to college for EOA so I'm having to take several classes just for typing. I'd really really suggest it. I always thought I typed fast, but now I know how fast I really can, plus I'm getting better at it. When I first started, I was typing 50-60 wpm, but now I'm typing 80-90.

It is going to take practice typing and typing. When I learned it was on a typewriter with no letters on the keyboard so you had to learn the rows and continue to practice. Yes I did get up to 100 wpm manually in secretarial school. Over the years it has slowed a bit but then again I don't use a typewriter it is now a keyboard and the touch and rhythm is different. So just keep at it and as one person said when you need the speed it will come. As a teacher told me when in school just go letter by letter and you will make less mistakes. So now I just look at letters and they make up words. Have a good holiday season.

The other S.

PS Now at my job I do verbatim transcription of people for a television show and sometimes I can type at the same speed they talk and keep up the flow for several sentences and this is just looking at a screen and not at the keys on the keyboard.

Some moms can't type fast. Some moms aren't very good cooks. Some moms are horrible at keeping the house clean, or putting away laundry, or doing dishes.... maybe you are just not a good typer! If that's your only drawback I think you are pretty great!

sounds like there's a short in the system maybe? I type a normal speed, probably like 60 wpm... both of my sons however type some ridiculous speed like 100wpm.... I have no idea how they do that. When I try to type real fast I make tons of mistakes. My right fingers will type the letters that the left fingers are supposed to type.
Typing speed has a lot to do with how you process the words in your head. You dont type the letters of the word individually you just type the word. If you are thinking about each individual letter THAT will be what is slowing you down. Words need to be looked at as a whole.

When I was in typing class in the 9th grade, my teacher said, "You don't type fast because you don't type fast". That statement was met with groans and disbelief. But I took it to heart. You have to type fast without regard for mistakes at first. Accuracy will come. Do you have a typing tutor program. They do make it fun.

Well if I used home row keys I would type like 5 words per minute. When I type my normal way (which is "pecking" using mainly only 4 fingers total) I got up to a steady speed of 94 words per minute with no errors. I guess it's just my way with the keyboard. If I write cursive I can write fast, but its exteremly sloppy and no one could probably read it (I have Dr's handwriting). If I take my time, it looks extremely nice, but it takes too long. Same with my print.
All I can suggest is speed building programs (there are a few ones free online), or trying to type a different way. There is no rule that you "have" to use those home row keys.
Godd Luck! =)

Practice typing with the correct fingers on keys over and over again everyday and it should increase your speed, use a timer, 5 min each time a few times a day. You will increase your typing.

I think the only reason I can type quickly and accurately is that I have had a series of pressure-cooker jobs (for the past 15 years or so) where if I didn't get things done at lightning speed, I'd have been fired. You know what they say, necessity is the mother of invention. I don't always type with the correct fingers on the correct keys, but the words come out spelled correctly and FAST. You just have to type fast and don't worry about the mistakes. Then as you get used to typing fast, you will learn to self-correct when you make mistakes. How you practice is how you perform!

(BTW, it used to take me forever to type an email on a Blackberry, too, but after 10 years of that I'm lightning fast there too! But again, only because of my horrible jobs, day after day, year after year...)

I'm thinking it could have something to do with coordination. Are you musical at all? Do you play piano or anything like that? It could honestly just be how your brain processes info to your hands for the output.

I generally type faster if Iknow what I want to say and I'm composing it , if I'm reading something and typing it , goes slower.
I used to do a lot of typing drills. But I've only gotten faster as I've gotten older and I do alot more typing. My fingers have just memorized where the keys are for the most part. Its muscle memorization.
Now I write really slowly it takes me forever to fill out forms!

Maybe get on line and do some word typing games (in your spare time, right?!) that they make for kids. I used to teach 3rd grade and there was a ton of stuff, one was called Erik the Viking and they liked it...could get you motivated and practice!

I actually disagree with Grandma T on typing the word vs the letter. In fact, in typing they teach you to focus on one letter at a time b/c if you look at the whole word you are really slowing yourself down b/c you are reading words instead of just copying letters...now this may just be more useful when you are copying some sort of document that's already written as opposed to what's in your own head, but I would say just practice the keyboard and it should come naturally...but then again it could just be a processing thing and it may never get better! Sorry!

I think there are two things that make for a good typist. First is natural ability, the second is practice. I took typing in high school and use keyboarding everyday in my career, but I'm still not fast. I think it's kind of like sports, some people have a natural ability and with some practice they can be superstars, while others can practice day and night and never maintain that level.

I type moderately quickly (at 80-120wpm) but I do NOT type according to what finger should be on what key. INSTEAD I just split the keyboard roughly in half... left to the left and right to the right and many an overlap there is. I also look down all the time (or rather I position the keyboard so I can see my fingers moving on the keys without having to look down).

So it MIGHT just be that you're trying to be too strict with how you're "supposed" to do it, versus what flows naturally. I can't type for scheisse when I'm doing it "correctly" (even though a whole durn YEAR of highschool was spent with paper over the keys so we couldn't look, and we'd be marked down if the teacher caught us using the "wrong" fingers. Seriously. Maybe 15-20 words per minute TOPS.

The other thing that comes to mind is arthritis. Juvenile arthritis can set in quite young, and then just hold fairly steady. If it's not just typing but ALL finger movement is very slow (can't do piano finger exercises - the kind where you tap your fingers against themselves, can't drum your fingers, etc.) you may very well want to go get checked for arthritis. If SO there are a lot of things that can be done which will give your hands more fluidity.

Anyhow... those are just the 2 things that popped into my mind. I suspect there could be a lot of other causes. Not dysgraphia (since typing is the fix for that), but mild dyslexia, a nerve damage, or just the way that your brain operates, etc. I tend to look for "causes" (like mechanics, medical problems, etc.) FIRST... because if there's a cause there's a fix.

I don't have a good answer except practice makes perfect. Even tho I too took typing/computers in school I found that I didn't really get good at it until I practiced using the correct fingers and trying to retype phrases. Back when I was a kid I would use games for typing. But as an adult, as I emailed, I worked hard to not look at the keys and just type. At first it is frustrating, but after awhile I got pretty good at it. Try it, pick something like "She sells seashells by the seashore," and other silly things that get you to use lots of the keys. I bet you'll find your accuracy and speed improve, especially if you get off the "home keys".

My husband is a computer professional, and I can type fast than him. He goes fast, but it's with the four-finger pecking style.

So that's what worked for me. Perhaps you're right that if you were a slow pen writer that you're just going to be a slow typer too. Maybe it has something to do with the connection between your brain and your fingers?

Have you tried playing online games that you must type fast to do well? If you're competetive, you'll probably develop speed, so you can keep up with the faster typists. I don't type perfectly accurately, but have developed speed since playing typing games. My favorite is at www.wordsplay.net (a version of the game Boggle), but I'm sure if you google typing games, you'll find a lot. There's also a game called Typing Maniac that I play through facebook: http://www.metrogames.com/games/typing-maniac.

You say you type all the time but what type of typing are you doing? Is it just quick statements? Is it just abbreviations?
I work for a living on my computer. It is only in the mornings but I know that my typing skills have definitely improved over the past 3yrs of my job but I am typing reports every day so it's more than just a few words or a sentence or two. That could be why or it may just not be your thing? Some people just lact that fine motor skill. My dh still types with mostly 2 fingers and he's on the computer most days as well.