Making IT work… typing tips
I find it really interesting that most of us use a computer keyboard almost on a day-to-day basis, and yet typing skills is not taught in schools or businesses. Many people type slowly using only their index fingers and their productivity is really poor, so here are some very useful typing tips that can improve your speed of typing and stop you from making basic mistakes.
There are several things that you can do to improve your typing skills and accuracy, and also to prevent mistakes from making their way through to print, your website, or to a potential customer in a bid or an important report or deliverable.
Posture
The first thing to do is to sit properly at the computer, with you back straight and head up. Place your index fingers on the ‘f’ and ‘j’ keys. These have a special raised bar or dot, so that you can locate them.
Look at the screen
As you type, look at the screen instead of watching your fingers. This may be tricky at first, but you will soon notice that speed up, and can find keys correctly and quickly.
Thumbs
Hit the space bar with your thumbs. You may find one thumb works instinctively better, and this often corresponds to whether you are left or right handed.
Mistakes
Pretty much all word processing software packages highlight words that are misspelt or unknown. As you type, ignore these mistakes until you get to the end of a sentence or the paragraph. This will help you flow the words from your head to the document without losing your thought process. Click on the highlighted words and correct them before moving on.
Review and check
At the end of typing, take a break for a few minutes from the screen and the subject matter. Return fresh and read from top to bottom, reading slowly and carefully.
Spell checker
Make sure you run the spell checker. I notice mistakes in the local and national press, as well as within formal documents and reports. These can all be prevented by reviewing. Even better, ask someone else to proof read the document for you.