Quick answer: to type faster, learn touch typing, prioritize accuracy over speed, and practice for 10 to 15 minutes a day. Speed follows accuracy. Measure your progress with a typing speed test every week or so.

How Typing Speed Is Measured

Typing speed is measured in words per minute (WPM). By convention, one "word" is five characters, including spaces, so 300 correct characters in one minute is 60 WPM. Accuracy is the share of keystrokes that were correct. A fast score with many errors is not really fast, because fixing mistakes takes time.

What Is a Good Typing Speed?

Sources vary, but adults commonly type around 40 WPM. People who type for a living often reach 60 to 80 WPM, and competitive typists go far beyond that. Many typing-heavy jobs ask for 40 to 60 WPM at 95% accuracy or better. Compare yourself with your last score rather than with other people.

Seven Habits That Actually Help

  1. Learn touch typing. Rest your fingers on the home row (ASDF and JKL;) and let each finger own a set of keys. Looking at the keyboard caps your speed.
  2. Put accuracy first. Slow down until you make few mistakes. Speed builds naturally once the movements are automatic.
  3. Practice a little every day. Short daily sessions beat one long weekly session.
  4. Keep a steady rhythm. Even keystroke timing is smoother than bursts and pauses.
  5. Read ahead. Your eyes should be a few words ahead of your fingers.
  6. Fix your setup. Keep your wrists neutral, your elbows near 90 degrees and the screen at eye level to avoid fatigue.
  7. Use real text. Practice with sentences and punctuation like the writing you actually do, not only random letters.

Plateaus Are Normal

Progress is rarely a straight line. If your speed stalls, try a harder passage, slow down for a few sessions to clean up errors, or work on the specific keys and letter pairs that slow you down. Then return to your normal level and you will usually see a jump.

Track Your Writing, Too

If you type to write essays or articles, pair speed practice with the word counter to keep an eye on length and reading time while you draft.