How To Type: Hand Placement, Posture, & Tips

To type most effectively and safely, follow these guidelines.

Hand Placement

Place your fingers on the "home row," with your index fingers on F and J (note the small bump on those two keys) and all other fingers on the next keys.

figure of home row and correct fingers

Your fingers should always remain on home row except when performing a reach as part of a keystroke. The more you move your fingers, the less efficient your typing will be!

Posture

A demonstration of correct typing posture.

To type correctly with the lowest risk for injury

  • Sit forward in your chair with feet placed flat on the ground.
  • Keep your back straight.
  • Make sure your arms and hands are parallel to the keyboard.
  • Keep your wrists straight, not bending up or down toward the keyboard.
  • Fingers should be curled toward each key, not flat.

Tips and Tricks

  1. DO NOT look at your fingers when typing. This will slow you down in the long run even though it is easier at first.
  2. Begin each exercise by finding the home row and making sure you know which keys are under which fingers. This will make looking at your hands unnecessary!
  3. Start slow and focus on accuracy. Speed is easier to gain than poor accuracy is to fix.
  4. Be patient! Learning to type accurately and with speed takes a long time and lots of practice. But, if you practice regularly, you should see increases in speed and accuracy within hours!