What is touch typing?

Touch typing is a style of typing that refers to typing without looking at the keyboard to find the keys. A touch typist will know the location of the key they want to press through muscle memory. The use of muscle memory is generally used to describe the form of touch typing that involves positioning eight fingers horizontally along the middle of the keyboard, on a standard QWERTY keyboard.
The hands are placed at a starting location called the “home row keys”. The home row keys for the left hand are the “A S D F” keys and for the right hand they are the “J K L ;” keys.

Most modern keyboards have a raised bar or dot on the home keys “F” and “J” for each index finger to help the touch typist maintain and recover the correct position of the fingers on the keyboard quickly without looking down at the keyboard.
With touch typing, each finger has a dedicated key assigned to it which it can easily reach. This makes it easier for the typist to build muscle memory when typing as each finger will only click the keys that are assigned.
This can be better understood with the image below as each key is colour-coordinated with the finger used to click those specific keys.

What are the benefits of touch typing?

There are many benefits when it comes to learning to touch type. Below is a list of some of the most noticeable and useful benefits.

1. Speed: This is the first and most obvious benefit of learning how to touch type. A touch typist can easily reach typing speeds above 75-80 words per minute (WPM), while a typist that has to look for individual keys they press can only reach a speed of about 30 WPM.

2. Accuracy: This is one of the most important skills to learn when typing and touch typing can make this process a lot easier. A touch typist can use their muscle memory to type, which prevents unnecessary mistakes as the typist knows which finger they are using to press each key on the keyboard.

3. Time and Productivity: By learning how to touch type and increasing your typing speed, you can easily save a lot more time and become more productive. For example, if you improve your typing speed from 30 WPM to 60 WPM with touch typing, you have effectively halved the amount of time it would take you to do the same amount of work. It has been proved that a trained touch typist can save around 20 to 35% of their time spent on a computer by learning the valuable skill of touch typing.

4. Reduce Fatigue: Typing is both mentally and physically exhausting when it is done for extended periods of time. Learning to effectively touch type reduces mental and physical fatigue. Mentally, touch typing allows you to focus on the displayed output rather than having to find individual keys, which makes the task of typing a lot more tiring. Physically, touch typing improves posture and reduces neck pain as the typist does not need to constantly bend their head down to look for the next key they want to click.

5. Job Prospects: Typing is a skill that is no longer optional for several job positions. Many employers require a certain typing speed to even be considered for the position. Learning to touch type can be one of the most invaluable skills of your career and can greatly increase future job prospects.