How to type faster on your phone

Typing faster on a phone is mostly about wasting fewer keystrokes, not moving your thumbs harder. Most people have more speed available than they use. These are the changes that tend to pay off first.

Use both thumbs

Two thumbs cover the keyboard with half the travel of one. Let the left thumb own the left half and the right thumb own the right, and let them alternate whenever the letters allow it. If you are a one-thumb typist today, expect a slower week while it beds in. There is more on this in one thumb vs two thumbs.

Slow down until you stop making mistakes

Every wrong letter costs you at least three taps: the mistake, the backspace and the fix. A pace you can hold cleanly is nearly always faster over a minute than a sprint full of corrections. Find the speed where you make almost no errors, then nudge it up a little at a time.

Look at the words, not your thumbs

Your thumbs already know roughly where the keys are. Keep your eyes on the text you are typing and read one or two words ahead, so your thumbs are never waiting for your eyes. Glance down only when something feels wrong.

Type whole words as one movement

Common words such as “the”, “and” and “that” come up constantly. With repetition they stop being separate letters and become a single practised rhythm. This is where a lot of real-world speed comes from, and it only arrives through repetition.

Practise in short runs

A few focused minutes a day beats one long session. Do two or three 60-second runs, look at the accuracy as well as the WPM, and stop. Tired thumbs practise mistakes. See healthy phone habits for why short sessions work better.

Set your phone up to help

• Hold the phone in portrait so both thumbs reach every key.
• Turn key vibration and sounds off if they distract you, or on if the feedback helps your rhythm.
• Check the size and height of your keyboard. More on that in keyboard settings worth changing.

Measure, then repeat

You cannot tell whether a change helped without a number. Take the 60-second test before you start, change one thing, practise for a few days and test again. If the number goes up and the accuracy holds, keep the change.