Adults can learn touch typing at any age, and usually learn the keyboard faster than children because they read fluently and practise deliberately. The extra work is replacing an existing hunt-and-peck habit, which takes two to four weeks of feeling slower. Fifteen minutes a day is enough.
What is different about learning as an adult
- You already read well. Children learning to type are often still learning to spell. You are not, so you can practise real words and sentences from the first week.
- You have a habit to replace. This is the only genuine disadvantage, and it is temporary. Expect two to four weeks during which the old way still feels faster.
- You know why you are doing it. A clear reason, such as a job requirement or a course, carries people through the awkward fortnight better than games do. Day 1 takes about fifteen minutes and needs no account.
- Your time is short. A course that asks for fifteen minutes is one you will finish. A course that asks for an hour is one you will abandon.
Does age slow it down?
Not meaningfully. Learning a movement pattern is something people do well into old age, which is why beginners take up instruments, crafts and sports at seventy and get good at them. What changes with age is not the ability to learn but the tolerance for frustration, so the fix is shorter sessions, gentler targets and no racing.
If you have arthritis, a tremor, reduced sensation in your fingertips or limited movement in one hand, ordinary touch typing may need adapting rather than abandoning. Our accessibility statement lists what can be adjusted. Larger keycaps, a flatter keyboard, a wrist rest or a one-handed layout all help, and sticky keys in your operating system removes the need to hold Shift while reaching.
A plan that fits around a working day
- Practise at the same time each day. Before the working day, or straight after lunch. Consistency does the work, not duration.
- Use the new method for real work as soon as you know the letters. It is slower for a week and much faster after a month.
- Do not test yourself daily. Speed bounces around from day to day and a bad test can be discouraging. Once a week is plenty.
- Protect your body. Feet flat, elbows at about ninety degrees, wrists straight and floating rather than resting, screen at eye level. Stand up once an hour.
If the first week feels humiliating, that is normal and it passes. Everyone who types well today spent a fortnight typing badly on purpose.
Questions people ask
Can a 50 or 60 year old learn to touch type?
Yes. Age has very little effect on learning a movement pattern. Expect the same two to four week adjustment as anyone else, and keep sessions short and accurate rather than fast.
Is it too late to learn touch typing?
No. The only thing that gets harder with time is unlearning the habit you have been using, and that is a matter of weeks, not years.
I type fast with two fingers. Should I still change?
If you are happy and comfortable, you do not have to. Change if you want to stop looking down, work for longer without tiring, or pass a typing test, because those are the things two-finger typing limits.
What is the best typing course for adults?
One that uses real words rather than games, puts accuracy before speed, takes about fifteen minutes a day and does not require an account or a subscription to finish.