You might have probably faced this in your life: despite consistent effort and practice, your typing speed refuses to improve, and you feel like your typing couldn’t get any better. This is called a typing plateau, and it is a very common thing to experience. Your typing speed plateau occurs because of multiple reasons, and there are ways to break through it with proven techniques and mindset shifts, only if you know what’s causing it. So let us discuss several reasons why your typing speed plateaus and how you can overcome it.
What Is a Typing Plateau?
A typing plateau refers to a sudden halt in your typing progress after a period of consistent improvement. When your typing speed plateaus, you may find yourself stuck at a certain words-per-minute (WPM) rate or accuracy rate despite regular practice. Some signs of a typing plateau include:
- Your WPM range remains unchanged for weeks.
- You feel frustrated during typing sessions.
- You repeat the same mistakes in the same places.
- You feel bored or disengaged with your current typing drills.
Plateaus aren’t a sign of failure; instead, they are a part of the natural learning curve. Understanding why typing plateaus happen can help you overcome them easily. So let’s discuss common reasons for hitting a typing plateau.
5 Common Reasons Why Your Typing Speed Plateaus
1. Practicing Without Structure
Mindless repetition over time can only take you so far in typing. In typing, many people plateau because they keep doing the same type of practice or exercises without focusing on the areas that need improvement. For instance, instead of focusing on typing hard and difficult words, they practice common words and sentences, which don’t add much to their typing skills after a while.
So, having a structured plan, such as targeting specific keys, patterns, or error areas, can make a huge difference; otherwise, you will be reinforcing the same habits over and over.
2. Prioritizing Speed Over Accuracy
Most people who start typing after a while prioritise speed over accuracy, and it is quite tempting to keep chasing a higher WPM, but if you keep pushing for speed while ignoring accuracy, then it will hurt your progress. Focusing on speed often leads to frequent mistakes that slow you down and force you to backtrack, which can reduce the overall efficiency of typing.
So instead of prioritising, consider improving accuracy to build muscle memory and confidence to type quickly without thinking.
3. Muscle Memory Saturation
This thing is usually overlooked, but muscle memory saturation is real. Your fingers may have memorised only a limited set of key combinations, making you proficient only in familiar text. If you don’t try new combinations, experiments, or challenges, and keep typing the same types of content repeatedly, then your growth will stall, and you will hit a plateau.
To keep improving, expose your fingers to new challenges, like numbers, capital letters, symbols, uncommon words, and varied punctuation, and take on the one, three, and five-minute tests by TypingTest.co to improve your muscle memory for various letter combinations.
4. Poor Posture or Hand Position
Poor posture or hand position can severely limit your typing speed. If you are sitting too low, reaching too far, or typing at an awkward angle, then you are wasting your energy and won’t be making major progress as far as typing is concerned. Ergonomics matter, especially in typing, and small changes to your seating, wrist posture, back posture, and keyboard angle can have a major impact on your long-term typing speed and comfort.
5. Using Only a Few Fingers for Typing
Using all ten fingers is recommended for achieving very high typing WPM speeds, and if you are not using all ten fingers, then your growth will be limited. The benefit of using all ten fingers is that it enables the kind of seamless motion needed for truly high speeds. Fixing a poor typing technique might feel like going backward in the start, but for long-term improvement, it is essential.
Also Read; A Chat with Ryan Dearlove on All Things AI
