I used to digit over 120 WPM (Words per minute) on my keyboard, which is kinda high if you consider the average typing speed is around 40 WPM (source: web). Nonetheless, there was a problem: I was using only 4 fingers to write and ergonomics weren’t really my concern. I had to improve, not to increase my writing speed, but to have a better and more correct writing experience.

Layouts first

Note: Layouts are a really important topic and I know next to nothing about them; here you can find more details.

Although I’m Italian, I’ve been using the US International layout for about 5 years. It’s better in every possible way in my opinion, even when you need to write something in Italian, which requires the use of accented letters, that are easier to “print” using this layout.

US International Layout (ANSI); Courtesy of Wikipedia, Denelson83 [CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons]

Normally, using the Italian layout, I simply had to press the accented letter I wanted on screen, and it would have been printed effortlessly. The problem is that not all the accented letters are immediately available with the italian layout, and this fact didn’t make sense for me: infact, to write those letters, I had to use ASCII combos (using ALT on Windows).

I started seeking for something faster, and that’s how I found the US Intl. layout, which I use daily. With this keyboard, I simply have to press the accent/quote symbol ( ` ) or the apostrophe symbol ( ’ ) and then the letter I want to accent. Game-changing!

My experience

Improving my writing experience was no joke. Increase the number of fingers involved in that is hard, because your muscle memory is accustomed to something and change is not welcome.

There are many websites which provide a way to train yourself and to improve your writing speed, but not so many that try to teach you better ergonomics and the proper way to lay your hands on the keyboard. Keybr is one of those few, moreover it tells you which keys each finger is responsible for.

Simulated keyboard on Keybr

On Keybr you are invited to write some words that are printed on screen and doing so you have to pay attention to use the correct fingers when you digit something. Initially it is a very demanding task, but over time you get used to it and if you do it in a constant manner, you will be able to notice great results in a short time.

My results

On Keybr there’s a section called “Profile”, thanks to which you can keep track of your improvements.

After two weeks of training, I’m now writing with twice (8) the fingers I was using before (4) with an accuracy of about 96%. Nonetheless, I slowed down to about 50 WPM, but that’s part of the game. I’d say it’s a pretty good improvement, even considering only the better posture that this kind of change forces you to adapt to.