Touch typing: how to type without looking at the keyboard

What is touch typing?

Touch typing is the technique of typing using all ten fingers without looking at the keyboard. Each finger is responsible for specific keys, and your hands return to a "home row" base position after every keystroke.

The home row

Place your left hand on A-S-D-F and right hand on J-K-L-;. Thumbs rest on the spacebar. The F and J keys have small raised bumps so you can find the home row without looking.

Finger-to-key mapping

• Left pinky: Q, A, Z, plus Shift and Tab
• Left ring: W, S, X
• Left middle: E, D, C
• Left index: R, F, V, T, G, B
• Right index: Y, H, N, U, J, M
• Right middle: I, K, comma
• Right ring: O, L, period
• Right pinky: P, semicolon, slash, plus Shift, Enter, Backspace
• Thumbs: Spacebar

A 30-day touch typing plan

• Days 1–7: Drill home row only (asdf jkl;). 10 min/day.
• Days 8–14: Add top row (qwerty / yuiop). 15 min/day.
• Days 15–21: Add bottom row and numbers. 20 min/day.
• Days 22–30: Type real prose at 60–70% of your max speed for accuracy. 20 min/day.

Common mistakes

• Looking at the keyboard "just this once" — don't.
• Skipping the pinky for shift and edge keys.
• Pushing for speed before hitting 95%+ accuracy.
• Hunching wrists — keep them flat and straight.

Measure your progress with our free typing speed test at the end of each week.