How to Improve Typing Speed
Updated 2026-10-16
Typing speed improves fastest when practice is short, daily and accurate. Two hours once a week does less than fifteen focused minutes every day. This guide gives you a plan you can follow with the free tools on this site.
1. Measure where you are
Take a 1-minute test and a 5-minute test. Note both your net WPM and accuracy. The 5-minute result is closer to exam conditions.
2. Fix the basics before chasing speed
- Posture: back straight, feet flat, screen at eye level, wrists slightly raised.
- Home row: fingers rest on A S D F and J K L ; — feel the bumps on F and J.
- No looking: eyes on the screen. If you look at the keys, your speed will hit a ceiling around 30–35 WPM.
If you are new to touch typing, complete the lesson course first. It takes about a week at 20 minutes a day.
3. A 30-day routine (15–25 minutes a day)
| Days | Daily routine | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| 1–7 | Lessons 1–7, then 2× 1-minute tests | Accuracy above 95% on every drill |
| 8–14 | Lessons 8–11, 1× 5-minute test, 5 minutes of Word Sprint | Stable speed with accuracy above 94% |
| 15–21 | 2× 5-minute tests, numbers and symbols drill, review weak keys | +5 WPM over day 1 |
| 22–30 | Alternate a 10-minute exam mock and a 5-minute test; one long passage at the weekend | Exam target speed for 10 minutes |
4. Practise your mistakes, not just more text
Every result screen lists your most-missed keys and the words you mistyped. Spend a few minutes on exactly those. The accuracy drills, number drills and symbol drills target the most common weak spots. Plus members get drills generated from their recurring mistakes across sessions.
5. Build endurance for exams
Most government typing tests last 10–15 minutes. Speed often drops in the second half. Practise full-length exam mocks two or three times a week and watch your speed graph for a late drop.
6. Common mistakes that slow progress
- Racing at 70% accuracy — exams subtract errors, so net speed falls.
- Stopping after a mistake — in no-backspace exams, keep going.
- Practising only one minute at a time — it hides fatigue.
- Changing keyboards often — practise on a keyboard similar to the exam centre’s.