Most common typing methods – what are they (with special one)

There are many ways to use your computer keyboard. More than you think there are. Today we will take a look at the most commonly used typing methods and one special one.

This extra one is not that often used and requires effort to learn. But the effects are well worth it. If you are reflecting on your typing method and wondering if you need to change it, stick around to it. It is a typing skill that I’m using myself and I simply love it.

What is a typing method?

Let’s start with a general question. If we want to talk about typing methods let’s get it clear what typing method is. Although it is pretty intuitive I think it’s worth saying a word about.

Typing method is a technique used for typing on the keyboard. There are some typing methods that are intuitive and commonly used. There are also methods created with the intention of speed. Those require a certain level of skill in order to use them. In return, they give you different advantages over standard methods.

It means that typing is not an easy task. There are worse and better methods of typing. In fact, every method requires some ability. The method that you’re using (even if it’s the one created by yourself) works only because you can type that way.

You could call a typing method differently – a typing skill. And just like with any other skill you need to learn it. You need to follow the technique that it brings in order to type in that method.

Or you can create your own if you have enough experience. It’s up to you.

How many styles of typing are there?

Let’s start by saying that there are many. That’s because everybody that hasn’t learned any typing skill naturally makes their own. If you haven’t spent any time learning a particular typing method, you created your own.

I’m not here to count all of those styles created by everyone in the world who types on a keyboard. I will talk about a few generalized typing methods that are most commonly used.

I will also tell you one typing method that requires time and effort to learn but is well worth it. With that being said let me tell you the answer to this question – how many styles of typing are there?

There are countless styles of typing. That’s because everyone who types on the keyboard for the first time makes their own. But they differ from each other in the slightest details. The most commonly used styles are hunt and peck typing, buffering typing, and hybrid typing. There’s also a special one – touch typing.

About that special one, you can read it later in this article. As well as the others that I will go into more detail about later on.

Don’t be discouraged though if your typing method is not one of those. There’s no real point in changing typing methods between those most commonly used. The ones like hunt and peck, buffering or hybrid bring pretty similar results.

You won’t benefit from changing around with those. If you want to see real results think about changing to touch typing. I have a whole article that will tell you what this typing method is all about. You can read it here – ARTICLE WHAT IS TOUCH TYPING

What is hunt and peck typing?

This is the most commonly used typing method out of them all. It’s not too specific, it just has one common rule on how you type. It is probably a method you use when typing.

In order to type in this method, you need to do three simple steps. First, one is to look down at your keyboard, find and type a key, and look up again to check if it is right. That is all there is to hunt and peck typing.

It is a method naturally used by people who type on a keyboard for the first time. With that said you can imagine that it’s not very efficient. It also hasn’t got much potential when it comes to speed and accuracy.

Hunt and peck typing is when you type by doing those three steps: look down at your keyboard, find and type the key, and look back up at the screen. If you are doing that when you type you’re using the hunt and peck typing method.

This method is not bad for beginners. Or for people who rarely use their keyboards. But when you start typing on your keyboard a lot you should consider changing the method to a better one.

What is buffering typing?

People who typed using hunt and peck typing often naturally slightly change their typing method. What they end up with is a method called buffering. What does it mean exactly?

This style of typing has a lot to do with remembering what to type. As the name itself suggests it is all about buffering. It is keeping a mental note of words to type.

In practice when you type using this method you first read or think of the words to type. Then you remember those words. After that, you look down at your keyboard to find and type the keys. After you type them you look back up at the screen to check your work.

And all of that over and over again. Typing with this method occupies your mind with words to type. You only get rid of them when you actually type them. That makes the typing pretty challenging. Especially if you need to come up with words and sentences to type and then remember them.

Now to recap everything I’ve just said. What is buffering typing?

Buffering typing is a slightly more advanced version of hunt and peck typing. It requires you to remember a few last words and then type them on your keyboard. It makes typing slightly faster than hunt and peck typing but much more tiring. Your brain not only needs to come up with words to type but also store them.

This whole remembering thing takes some time to get used to. But even after that, it is still heavy on your brain. It makes you do quite a lot of work even if you don’t realize it. It is slowly making you more and more tired as you type.

What is touch typing?

Now we’re talking about the more advanced methods. Touch typing is definitely a great style of typing that requires a lot of time to learn.

In order to type using the touch typing technique you need to first develop certain muscle memory for your keyboard layout. You could say that you need to remember the whole layout but not in your ordinary memory. You need to learn the keyboard in your muscle memory.

Now, I know that it sounds really complicated. But in reality, it’s not that hard. It just takes time. If you follow the right process of learning touch typing you will be just fine. Your skill naturally comes with time.

Alright, but what touch typing actually is in practice?

Touch typing is a typing method that requires you to build certain muscle memory. Touch typing makes use of all ten fingers in order to type on your keyboard. It automates the process of typing and minimizes the amount of movement that your fingers need to do. It also makes you type without looking at the keyboard.

That’s the general idea of touch typing. If you want to know a bit more detail about this typing method you can check out my article. I describe in it what touch typing exactly is with some cool photos. Here’s the article for you – ARTICLE WHAT IS TOUCH TYPING

Touch typing as a technique is very interesting. It is fascinating to watch someone type on their keyboard without even looking. This skill makes your fingers kind of naturally float towards the right keys.

If you’re intrigued by it and you want to learn it then I will give you something. I made a detailed article about all the touch typing basics that you need to know before even starting out. I’m sure you will get a lot of value from it. You can read it here – ARTICLE ABOUT TOUCH TYPING BASICS

What is hybrid typing?

This is the last style that I want to talk about. As the name itself suggests, it is a combination of styles. Hybrid typing joins together touch typing with either hunt and peck typing or a slightly more advanced version of it – buffering typing.

Hybrid typing sound fancy and makes a good first impression. Just think about it, you can connect touch typing with some easier methods so everything will be easier! And you will get the benefits of touch typing!

Or will you? What I like to call this method is touch typing for those who didn’t learn enough. It sounds good to be able to connect touch typing and hunt and peck typing to get better results quicker. And it might actually work in the beginning.

You might get fast results. But in the long run, you will learn bad habits, you will get used to looking down at your keyboard, and you won’t create all of the muscle memory to type using touch typing.

In reality, hybrid typing is a very bad idea that will slow you down later on. Now, let’s recap everything I’ve just said. What is hybrid typing?

Hybrid typing is a combination of touch typing and less advanced styles like hunt and peck typing. In practice, it means that for some letters you use touch typing, and for some hunt and peck typing. It may seem amusing at first because of the fast results. But in the long run, it will hold you back tremendously.

It’s completely not worth it. Hybrid typing is just a fancy way of saying „bad touch typing”. If you really want to learn touch typing and type much faster than you can right now, stay as far away from hybrid typing as you can.

It’s like a silent killer for everyone who wants to make progress in touch typing. At first, it will seem like everything’s alright. It will bite you later on.

What is the best typing method?

Today I told you about just 4 typing styles. They are all different and bring their own results. But there is one question – which one of them brings the best results? Which is the best for you to use?

Let me start by saying that it depends on you. We all have different needs. Some people want to type as fast as they can to be as productive as they can. Some might only type occasionally.

I will not only tell you which method is the best when it comes to sheer performance. Just because you have the best possible tool doesn’t mean you will need to use it. Now, let’s get into the practical stuff.

The best typing method from the main ones when it comes to performance and movement efficiency is definitely touch typing. But it doesn’t mean that it’s best for you. If you rarely type on your keyboard and you’re not aiming for speed, you don’t need touch typing. It is an advanced typing method for great results.

You need to understand that – you don’t need to learn touch typing because it sounds cool. You can, it’s up to you. But don’t be surprised if you will find out that touch typing didn’t help you with work. If you’re not typing a lot in your work it just won’t work.

Don’t get me wrong – you can definitely learn touch typing just for the fun of it. I myself tell you that it’s just great and brings a lot of satisfaction. What I don’t want is you to be disappointed because touch typing didn’t work.

It is a great skill and a great technique. It works just as intended – it makes typing faster, is more accurate, and makes you type without looking at the keyboard. Makes the whole typing experience much better. If you want to learn touch typing I highly recommend it.

In fact, I’ve created a whole detailed article to help you get started with touch typing. It is all about the basics that you need to know. You can read it here – ARTICLE TOUCH TYPING BASICS

I hope that learning touch typing will not only give you great results but also be a fun adventure for you.

What is the most efficient way to type?

That’s not a hard question for me to answer. I’ve been using this one typing method for quite a long time now and I’m sure that it’s one of the most efficient ways to type possible.

Maybe if we will make a mind-reading device that automatically does all the typing for you at the speed of thought this method will be beaten. Well, let’s hope something like that will never happen. We all know what will come next – a real-life Doctor Octopus.

Back to the question – what is the most efficient way to type?

The most efficient way to type is by far the touch typing technique. By using all of your ten fingers and building muscle memory this typing method has great potential. Achieving the speed of 200 WPM is definitely possible (and was proven so by typists). Thanks to automatizing the typing process and better movement efficiency touch typing is definitely the choice.

Why do I know that? I’ve been using this typing style for a long time. I wasn’t born with this natural gift. After hearing what touch typing can do I decided to try it for myself. The learning wasn’t easy. At that time there wasn’t much information about this skill on the internet.

I learned it from scratch myself learning from my mistakes. There was a point when I had to change my keyboard layout from QWERTY because I’d learned too many bad habits. It was simply easier to start over than to change them.

Without the right resources, you can make many mistakes and waste a lot of time. Or you can follow the right process of learning and do it fast and painlessly.

If you want to start learning touch typing do something for yourself – learn from people that already know touch typing. I myself made a detailed article about the basics of touch typing. It will be a great place for you to start. You can read it here – ARTICLE TOUCH TYPING BASICS

With that being said I hope your learning will be going great.

If there’s anything more that you would want to learn let me know in the comments down below. I will be glad to help!