Read ahead and keep the flow

Above 70 WPM, raw finger speed matters less than flow: reading ahead, keeping an even rhythm and never stopping to recover from a mistake.

Read one to two words ahead

Expert typists' eyes are already on the next word while their fingers finish the current one. Practise letting your eyes run slightly ahead of the caret. It feels strange at first, then becomes automatic.

Even rhythm beats bursts

Bursting through easy words and stalling on hard ones costs more than typing everything at one steady pace. In races and contests, a steady 75 WPM usually beats a jumpy 80 WPM with corrections.

Recover without stopping

• Fix a mistake with one quick backspace and move on. Don't re-read the whole word.
• If you lose your place, find the next word, not the mistake.
• Breathe out slowly before a long passage. Tension in your shoulders shows up as errors in your fingers.