Your typing speed is important! For many jobs, typing speed is a prerequisite for the job.

Everyone knows that a person's proficiency rating in typing is measured by speed words per minute !wpm". #o one ta$ks about percentage accuracy. %e a$ways hear about a person's wpm. & speed of 40 wpm is the basic minimum standard required by many emp$oyers and government positions. Effective typing speeds shou$d be at $east ' ( ) times your handwriting speed.

How is speed calculated? *he standard formu$a is as fo$$ows *he number of characters typed is divided by + !the average word $ength, inc$uding a space in(between words". *his is divided by the e,ercise time, in seconds, and then mu$tip$ied by -. to get words per minute.

Techniques for increasing speed (This is the second stage of typing training) &utomatic movements ( motor !physica$" $earning and kinesthesia /peed can on$y increase once typing keys on the keyboard becomes a more automatic physica$ motor process. 0eop$e norma$$y $earn 'where' the keys are on the keyboard very quick$y. 1eve$oping the ski$$ and speed to hit the $etters quick$y, accurate$y and in the correct sequence invo$ves more effort and takes much $onger. 2inesthesia is an essentia$ motor ski$$ that peop$e use a$$ the time. *his a$$ows us to ride a bike, drive a car, write, feed ourse$ves and perform thousands of movements a day without 'thinking' about how to perform the movement. *he motor p$anning for these physica$ ski$$s is subconscious, and the movements are 'a u t o m a t i c'! %e don't need to be $ooking at our hands and body whi$e performing these actions. You may have a very good know$edge of the qwerty keyboard. You may be ab$e to remember e,act $ocations of each $etter on the keyboard. 3iven a b$ank $ayout, you might be ab$e to write in most $etters and numbers correct$y. 4ut ( you sti$$ might be a s$ow, hunt(and(peck typist. *his proves the point that no matter how we$$ you know the keyboard, your fingers need to deve$op the movement patterns, contro$ and 'kinesthetic' physica$ 'musc$e and movement' memory of where each specific key is $ocated..... without vision !! 5ikewise, the physica$ act of typing keys on the keyboard must become an 'automatic' kinesthetic task which doesn't require thinking about the keys or $ooking at the keyboard. &ny thinking shou$d be about the 'content' of what is being typed the words and sentences, not the physica$ act of pressing the correct keys. In summary: 6otor 5earning and 2inesthesia ( these sound $ike big words, but the concepts are simp$e. 6otor or physica$ $earning happens with repetition. Your fingers wi$$ '$earn' the movement patterns and paths for each $etter. *he $ess you re$y on your vision, the more your fingers take over the motor tasks of 'remembering' the position in space of each $etter. 1eve$oping automatic movements and increasing speed requires the fo$$owing steps 1 !earn good technique first 5earn where the keys are and which fingers shou$d be used for each key. &$so use good body and arm7hand positioning ( good ergonomics. *his wi$$ be the basis for $ong term good typing habits. " #epetition $ repetition $ repetition &utomatic movements are on$y deve$oped through p$enty of repetition and practice. 6usc$es and joints $earn position in space and movement patterns through continuous movement in the patterns to be $earned. Every ath$ete and sportsman knows that regard$ess of ta$ent, practice is what makes the body work we$$. % &on't loo( #o matter how tempted you are, once you have $earned the correct finger p$acement and which fingers to use for specific keys, practice typing without $ooking. 4eing tempted to $ook at your fingers reduces the motor training effect, and re$ies more heavi$y on vision for finding the correct keys rather than the kinesthetic 'musc$e and sensory' senses of the fingers. 1eve$oping good speed wi$$ be significant$y hindered if vision is used. *his is true of the who$e typing process, since $ooking at the keyboard resu$ts in the visua$ shift from keyboard to screen to paper documents, thus reducing the efficiency of typing in a$$ ways. 4 )e disciplined* *his point cannot be emphasi8ed enough. 9nstead of focusing on accuracy of key hits, rather work on your /0EE1 during this second phase of training. You can make corrections $ater, but for now, work on getting your speed up without $ooking! 0ut a towe$ over your hands if necessary. :product idea;