If you're old can you still learn touch typing or not bother?

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Batman

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#237685 13-Jun-2018 14:38

Hi guys, I have been typing the way I type, and the way i observe, using 3 fingers each hand mainly. The little finger does little other than L shift and enter, and thumbs for space.

I am trying to do this touch typing thing and it's quite hard to break an old habit.

What should I do?

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#2035974 13-Jun-2018 14:44

Never too old to break a habit. Way I learned was:

Tea towel to cover your keyboard (helps prevent the temptation of looking)
Print out a visual map of the QWERTY layout and have it nearby
Do a 10min typing game online once a day

Will be usable after a week, and just get faster from there

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#2035976 13-Jun-2018 14:46

I can do all the middle row. Well, most of the middle row.

Ok maybe I just need to push through with the other 4 rows!

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#2035998 13-Jun-2018 15:49

For me the biggest hurdle was accepting I would have to be slower at typing whilst I learnt before I would get quicker.

The temptation to jump back to two finger typing was huge. Just had to persevere with it. Took me quite a while - and I was fairly young (in my 20s).

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#2036008 13-Jun-2018 15:55

I was similar. Gotta ride through the dip, use a typing tutor to retrain right back from the basics. Focus on doing it correctly (even if slow), and accurately. Speed will eventually follow.

Dulouz

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#2036024 13-Jun-2018 16:17

I use https://www.typingclub.com from time to time but always get a bit lazy and revert back to my old habits

Amanon

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#2036029 13-Jun-2018 16:32

I learnt touch typing via Compuserve, ICQ & MSN chat....you soon learn to touchtype like a pro.

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#2036069 13-Jun-2018 17:55

I tried a good few years ago with the Mavis Beacon program. I just gave up after a little while because some of the stretches seemed too hard (the "B" key etc) and I felt like I might get carpel tunnel or something. I could feel the strain on my wrist. So I'm back to my 3 finger typing. It's not the best. I can type about 48 words per minute, but I have to look at my hands. At over 40 I think I'm too old to change my ways now...lol

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#2036084 13-Jun-2018 18:19

At the risk of sounding like Steve Jobs, you should aim to learn something new everyday.

Anyway of course you can learn. So long as you have the attitude that you can.

Da5id, getting sore from keyboard use is very bad. Just relax and check your posture is correct. A change of keyboard may help, especially if you can get yourself an ergonimic type.

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#2036085 13-Jun-2018 18:19

I am older and I can type very fast using all 8 fingers and 2 thumbs without looking at the keyboard.

Then I wake up and type this using one hand, three fingers and thumb with my gaze firmly set on the keyboard

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

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#2036093 13-Jun-2018 18:40

very impressive guys.

I can type fast, but it's my own method not touch typing. and make a lot of mistakes so the backspace gets used a lot.

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#2036136 13-Jun-2018 19:53

chewster:

Never too old to break a habit. Way I learned was:

Tea towel to cover your keyboard (helps prevent the temptation of looking)
Print out a visual map of the QWERTY layout and have it nearby
Do a 10min typing game online once a day
Will be usable after a week, and just get faster from there

Years ago I taught myself to touch type on an electric typewriter. I bought a typing course book that included a QWERTY map card & I propped this up above the typewriter & kept my eyes on the card.

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#2036139 13-Jun-2018 20:09

nzkc:

For me the biggest hurdle was accepting I would have to be slower at typing whilst I learnt before I would get quicker.

The temptation to jump back to two finger typing was huge. Just had to persevere with it. Took me quite a while - and I was fairly young (in my 20s).

I learnt to touch type about 20 years ago when I was still at high school and my experience was exactly the same as yours. I'm so glad I stuck with it for long enough to master the skill, because the ability to touch type throughout my adult life has been so valuable.

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#2036141 13-Jun-2018 20:14

Ok so the trick is touch type very slowly. I'll try that.

da5id

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#2047362 2-Jul-2018 11:51

I learnt to touch type about 20 years ago when I was still at high school and my experience was exactly the same as yours. I'm so glad I stuck with it for long enough to master the skill, because the ability to touch type throughout my adult life has been so valuable.

I would have taken typing back then if I'd known computers would be such a big part of our lives, but back when I was in high school only girls took touch typing on real typewriters and I had no interest in it.

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#2047364 2-Jul-2018 11:52

I learned to touch type when I was in my late teens up all night chatting on mIRC in the dark so as not to wake up the family. Overnight was the clearest run I could get on the dialup :) No backlit keyboard, no lights, best way to learn!

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