For many people, learning to type faster equates to improving video game performance or typing documents faster, though increasing typing speed has the overall benefit of saving time. Want to know if the amount of time saved by typing faster is significant? We determined how many documents could be entered at a typing speed of 30wpm, 60 wpm, and 90 wpm and then how much time was saved at each speed increase.

We found improving typing speed can have a dramatic impact on a person’s productivity, thereby saving a surprisingly large amount of time each week. Check out our infographic and leave a comment about how much time you’ve gotten back from typing faster.

In the next installment of Typing Through Time, The History and Evolution of Keyboard Layouts are explored. Did you know that some keys we take for granted didn’t initially exist? Learn more about the history and evolution of keyboard layouts in the Third Chapter of the series, and let us know what you think. We’ll be updating this series in the future with more chapters.

Typing Through Time is in the format of a research paper, and focuses strictly on the history of typing devices. Please comment with your input, thoughts, and/or anything you feel we left out. Typing Through Time is a draft that we will continuously be adding to and are open to revisions, so please comment your feedback.

Desk ergonomics are important to help prevent physical fatigue and the injuries that result from repetitive movements. Good ergonomics increase typing speed by achieving a more efficient positioning for typing movements that requires less motion to reach each key. Considering that the average person spends about 8 hours a day in front of a computer, making a few adjustments to a computer desk setup can have a huge impact on both physical comfort and typing speed.

One of the most common injuries caused by improper ergonomics is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome occurs when compression at the wrist causes pressure on the median nerve. This can result in tingling, pricking, numbness, pain in the hands or wrists, and loss of grip strength. In some cases, the pain can even travel up the arm and into the shoulder. Treatments involve everything from splints to expensive surgery, and this is only one of the likely injuries to occur from poor posture and ergonomics. For a person who tends to slouch or lean towards the monitor, back and neck injuries are another concern. The easiest way to avoid these injuries is to design your workspace to be as ergonomic as possible and take regular breaks as you work to avoid repetitive movements.

Desk Chair
The best place to start is with the desk chair. The height should be adjusted so that a user’s arms are bent at a 90° angle or greater when sitting at the desk with both hands on the keyboard. Feet should be flat on the ground, or on a foot stool, with thighs parallel to the floor. This not only helps with back support, but stability as well. Allowing about 3 inches between the back of the knees and the front edge of the chair seat is ideal to help maintain proper circulation in the legs.A foot stool is very helpful when the feet don’t quite reach the ground. It also helps lift the thighs slightly for better circulation and automatically tilts the body slightly away from the computer. Adjust the armrests so the lower arms rest parallel to the floor. It’s best that armrests only be used when not typing, to help maintain proper body alignment.

Monitor
The monitor should be adjusted so that the top of the screen is slightly below eye level. This results in a slight bend in the neck, which reduces the neck strain that can occur when a monitor is lower or higher. Position the monitor to avoid glare by placing it at a right angle to any light sources or windows and make sure there is at least a 20-inch distance between the computer screen and the user to avoid eye strain.

Keyboard
The keyboard should be placed slightly below the elbow and at a negative angle. This allows the wrists to remain straight while typing. Avoid using a wrist rest or armrest while actively typing as this can cause the wrists to bend, placing unnecessary strain on them. Keeping elbows close to the body can help with typing speed since it puts the arms in the most efficient position for reaching the keyboard.

Posture
One of the most important aspects of desk ergonomics is posture. Even with a perfect ergonomic setup, poor posture can result in a loss of the ergonomic benefits. The main thing to remember is to not slouch.Sit up straight, with the back placed at a 90 degree angle to the legs. Leaning back rather than towards the screen is very important to help avoid slouching. Slouching and leaning forward in the chair both contribute to both back and neck strain.

 
Breaks
Finally, take breaks and stretch. The 20/20 rule is a good rule to follow: take a 20 second break for every 20 minutes spent working on a computer. A few shoulder rolls, hugging yourself tightly, or even standing up and touching your toes can help loosen muscles and get those eyes away from the monitor.

With these simple desk ergonomic adjustments, one can keep the body in proper alignment and avoid unnecessary strain. The added bonus is that perfect posture can significantly increase typing speed and efficiency.

Sean Wrona wiped the competition out last year at the Ultimate Typing Championship. It’s not often that you see someone type 213 wpm at peak speed, under pressure, and with a crowd watching. With this in mind, we asked him a few questions to learn the secrets of his typing success.

How does it feel to be the Ultimate Typing Champion?
Sean: I’m a bit surprised how much attention I’ve received for this.  I’m getting a few Facebook friend requests every week from people all over the world as a result of my typing successes and have a growing number of subscribers to my YouTube account where I’ve recorded races on a variety of typing sites. I have developed almost all my better recent friendships among the online typing community in the past two or three years. I like the attention.

Did you ever take a typing class?
Sean: No, I never took a typing class.  I taught myself to type using an old DOS program called CPT Personal Touch-Typing when I was 3. I attained a speed of 83 wpm when I was 6 and 108 wpm when I was 10, then really didn’t pay attention to my improvement after that until I gradually discovered the competitive typing community in 2008 and 2009.

How much time do you spend typing each day?
Sean: As much time as I spend on the computer generally, which lately has probably been as much as 12-14 hours a day.  I practice typing a small percentage of that time though.

What do you type most?
Sean: I run a php/MySQL database-driven auto racing statistics site at www.race-database.com and enter each weekend’s major-league auto races.  Typing has been very helpful in that regard as at my peak I was able to enter entire MotoGP races in four minutes.  Collecting data has been one of my big hobbies in general for many years. [Typing] also can help me when chatting with friends on Facebook or a few message boards I post on.

What keyboard are you currently using?
Sean: Das Keyboard Model S Professional Silent.

What browser do you recommend for the best typing experience?
Sean: The difference in browsers is significant because for some reason Google Chrome tends to register higher speeds for the same real speed than Firefox or Internet Explorer do.

Do you find that music helps you type faster? If so, what type?
Sean: I listen to YouTube videos very frequently when I’m playing typing games, but I haven’t noticed any genre being associated with faster or slower typing than any other.

Do you game? If so, do you feel your typing skills help with your gaming and what games do you prefer?
Sean: I’m not really into video games.  I’m only into typing games and Scrabble, which I do frequently play online.  Typing speed only really helps you at Scrabble if you can analyze the best plays quickly, and there are many, many players who do that better than I do, although it can be helpful that I can enter my play the very instant I’ve decided on a play.  Once in a great while I’ve played old classics like Jumpman, Wizard of Wor, and Tetris and typing, which I suspect is connected with reaction time, can help. However, I haven’t gotten obsessed with any video game to the point of wanting to master it.

How often would you recommend people practice to improve their typing?
Sean: Probably you would treat it as you would in terms of any other kind of exercise - three times a week a half hour each.

How do you correct mistakes and maintain your typing speed?
Sean: Shift+Home, then backspace is my preferred method of correcting typos on a competitive typing site such as TyprX.  I simply backspace to wherever I made the initial typo in everyday typing.

How far ahead do you read while typing?
Sean: I tend to read one word in advance in typing competitions. Having the next word always in mind prevents there from being any awkward pauses, and remembering more than one word in advance may be too much to process simultaneously.

Do you read the words out loud or just focus on typing the characters?
Sean: I never read words out loud; that would be a distraction that would cause me to be far slower.  I just type.

What advice do you have for people wanting to type faster?
Sean: If you want to increase your speed, do not type each word at uniform speed. Speed through the easier words and take a little more time on the harder words to ensure accuracy. Always focus on the word after the word you are currently typing so there are no unnatural pauses in your typing. I recommend using caps lock instead of shift to type capital letters to allow more flexibility in the hand that you would normally use shift with.
I believe my biggest advantage in typing is that I do not necessarily use the same finger to type the same key. I use whichever finger is most comfortable, which can vary based on the context of the letters in the word. I tend to use whichever finger is closest based on the positioning of my hands typing the other letters in the word.

We were definitely surprised by Sean’s typing technique, as we expected something more akin to standard touch-typing. Some people must be born to type and Sean Wrona is one of them.

Between sorting spam and reading new messages, email can be a time-consuming endeavor. Gmail has a keyboard shortcuts feature that makes managing your inbox much easier as almost every action in Gmail can be done from the keyboard.

In order to use keyboard shortcuts, the feature must be enabled. Go to the gear icon at the top right corner of the Gmail page and select Mail settings. From the settings menu, find the keyboard shortcuts section and turn it on.

If you’ve never used keyboard shortcuts with an email application, here’s a good way to start: use the k and j keys to move back and forth between the messages, the x key to select the messages to be deleted, and the # key to delete all the messages selected. See these shortcuts in action in the video and then check out the charts below for even more shortcuts to help you cut down on time spent in your inbox.

Basic Navigation:

*Keyboard shortcuts are case-sensitive.

Jumping to Specific Sections:

Selecting Conversations:

Actions:
All except “x” require you to select the conversation or message before applying these actions.