I’m a programmer, how do I learn to type faster so I can code faster?
I’ve started writing articles to answer questions I get all the time, I wrote this one a little while ago: Programming best practices for beginners
Another question I get surprisingly often is “I’m a beginner programmer and I’m really slow at typing, how can I learn to type faster so I can program faster?”
Let me start by saying you don’t need to type fast to be a good programmer.
Typing fast doesn’t hurt, but unless you’re pecking at the keyboard, one key at the, you’re fine.
Beginners find this surprising but your job as a programmer isn’t typing code, it’s solving problems.
That aside, how do you become a faster typist?
When I was a kid (Oh gods.. don’t worry, I’ll keep it short) I was an “index finger typer”. Even though computers were fun, no one had taught me how to actually type on a keyboard!
I was visiting my grandparents one summer. My grandpa had a few older 386’s sitting around (Kind of like the one below) and I found a few 5" 1/4" floppy discs so decided to play around with it.
One of them was a simple typing program. You just loaded it up, entered your name, it asked if you were a beginner, and then you hit “Start typing”.
It showed me a keyboard and explained what the little divots on F and J were for (Home row), how to hold my hands, what fingers to use for what keys, etc.
And then it presented me with a word to type, and then another, etc.
After a minute (The default setting if I remember) it gave you a few stats on commonly missed keys, Words Per Minute and a few other metrics.
I didn’t know anything about anything, but I wanted to beat that crappy WPM score so I hit “Start again” and HAH!, I did it, I was a little bit better this time around! It was fun beating my own high-score :)
I kept playing with that for a while every day over the summer and at the end of it I was plenty fast!
The path to become a fast typist is very simple:
- Learn how to use the keyboard. How to hold your hands, what fingers to user for what keys, etc.
- Practice, over and over.
There are plenty of typing programs out there, a quick search found https://www.typingclub.com/ which looks like a good option at a glance.
For the record: I’m not affiliated with that site, I’ve never used it, it just looks decent at a glance.
How often and how long you should practice depends on how serious you are about getting faster.
Just 10 minutes a day of proper practice will give you pretty big results within just a week or two.
So grab yourself a typing program and star tapping those keys the right way.
Happy typing!
