Why touch type

Most people who type for a living do not touch type. They use four to six fingers and look at the keyboard. Their pace tops out around 40 wpm. They have done it that way for years and they get their work done.

So the question is fair: why bother?

What you gain

Speed. A practiced touch typist runs 70-90 wpm in long-form prose. The fastest competitive typists hit 150-200 wpm. The hunt-and-peck ceiling is around 50 wpm and most people sit far below it.

Stamina. Touch typing uses ten fingers in rotation. Each finger does less work. Your hands tire less, and you can type for longer before you start making mistakes.

Attention. Looking at the keyboard means switching between two visual contexts -- the screen and the keys. Touch typing eliminates the second context. You read what you are writing as you write it.

Edits in flight. When your eyes never leave the screen, you catch typos as they happen. Hunt-and-peckers fix typos in waves -- type a paragraph, look up, find the errors, fix them, look back down, type more. Touch typists fix as they go.

What you give up

Two to four weeks of slower typing while you learn. During the transition, your wpm will drop. Most people get back to their old pace in two weeks of daily practice. A few take a month.

The reason it works is the same reason it is uncomfortable: you are replacing a habit. The habit was efficient enough to run on autopilot. The new habit is not yet, so every keystroke takes thought. This passes.

How long it takes

A reasonable timeline for someone who currently hunts and pecks at 35 wpm:

• Week 1: Foundation lessons. Slow. Maybe 12 wpm.
• Week 2: Starts to feel mechanical. 20 wpm.
• Week 3-4: Roughly back to your old hunt-and-peck speed. The transition is over.
• Month 2: 45 wpm at 95% accuracy.
• Month 3: 55 wpm.
• Month 6: 70 wpm if you practice a few days a week.
• Year 1: 80-90 wpm and the keyboard has disappeared from your awareness.

These are typical, not promised. Some people are faster, some slower.

Should you bother

If you type more than thirty minutes a day for work or hobby, yes. The break-even point is roughly two months in -- at that point you have made up the time you spent learning. Everything after is pure return.

If you barely use a computer, probably not. The skill is for people who use the keyboard all day.

If your hands hurt by the end of a workday, definitely yes. Most repetitive-strain injuries from typing come from awkward hand positions held for hours. Touch typing keeps the hands centered and balanced.