Typing with two fingers – is it good or should you change it?

Typing with two fingers – this is a technique that every one of us used at some point. Especially when just learning the first steps when it comes to typing on a computer keyboard.

At the same time, this is a technique that most people use to type on their keyboards. The most popular technique is more less typing with two fingers.

I say more less because most of the time when we get a little more experienced, we change things out a bit. Instead of typing with just two fingers, we step up our game to four fingers. Maybe even remembering some of the most popular movements.

In this article, I am going to talk about two-finger typing. How efficient is that, is it worth doing, are there better or easier ways to type on your keyboard. Generally, everything you need to know about two-finger typing.

What is it called when you type with two fingers?

Most of the time we call this typing method simply „typing with two fingers”. But there’s also a second name that it has. What is it called?

Typing with two fingers is also called hunt and peck typing. That is because when you’re typing using only your two fingers, you are looking at your keyboard for the key (hunting) and then pressing it (pecking). It is similar to how the birds „hunt” for the seeds in the grass.

It is the most visual explanation that I can give you. When you think about it your fingers really do move just like a bird’s beak. That’s why this method is called „hunt and peck”.

What is hunt and peck typing?

This method of typing is most commonly used all around the world. This is the natural approach of most of us to typing on the keyboard. You obviously need to look down at your keyboard in order to type, right?

Well, not exactly. There are ways to optimize your typing, learn better methods, and make use of your memory. But we’ll get to that later.

For now, I will show you what practically is hunt and peck typing and what this method looks like:

Hunt and peck typing is a method where you look down at your keyboard to find the key (hunt) and then using your fingers press this key (peck). It is a similar movement to the one that birds do when looking for seeds in the grass. You first look for the key to press, then press it with your finger, then bring finger up again.

Like a chicken would look for the seed, get it with his beak and bring himself back up. Then do it all over again. That’s how this typing method looks like from the side.

Is typing with two fingers bad?

The next question that’s worth answering is whether or not this typing method is good? Is it alright to type using just your two fingers? Or maybe you should think about changing your typing technique?

Now imagine a chicken that’s „hunting” for seeds in the grass. He looks for the seed. Then gets the seed with his beak and goes back to looking. When we type using two fingers we do the same thing.

First, you need to look at your keyboard and find the right key. Then you need to lower your fingers and press the right key. And then you need to get your fingers back up to be ready for the next one.

You might think „That’s not really efficient, isn’t it? You make these huge movements when typing”. And you would be right. Even though this is a slight exaggeration, this typing method has a similar effect on your typing.

What’s the final answer then? Is hunt and peck typing bad?

Typing with two fingers requires you to do a big movement with your fingers. Now only that, you also need to find the right key. You have to look down at your keyboard, find the key, press it, look at the monitor for the next key, find it, and so on. The amount of tasks that you need to do slow you down tremendously.

Typing with two fingers is definitely a slow typing method. Does it mean that it’s bad? Not really. It’s great for those who type on the keyboard for the first time. Or for those who very rarely use their keyboard. There’s no need for them to learn advanced typing techniques.

But if you want to type much faster and more effectively – then yes. Typing with two fingers is going to slow you down by a lot. This is not the technique that’s meant for fast typing. Typing with two fingers is bad when it comes to speed.

Why hunt and peck typing is bad?

Hunt and peck typing has huge typing movements. It’s not ergonomic and not efficient at all. It was never meant to be. It’s a typing method that was developed by people who saw a keyboard for the first time ever.

„What’s bad with those movements?” – you might ask. From the casual point of view, there’s no real disadvantage of this typing method. If you are asking this question and you don’t want to type fast – don’t worry then. You’re completely fine typing with two fingers.

Hunt and peck typing is bad when it comes to typing speed. It is because of the large amount of movement that you need to make. Bad movement efficiency makes your whole typing experience much slower. It also requires you to look at your keyboard which breaks down your focus.

There are many disadvantages that are tied to this typing method. The first one is the required movement which slows you down. Then there’s looking down at your keyboard.

It doesn’t seem like it at first but looking down at your keyboard has a huge effect on your typing performance. 

Don’t get me wrong, hunt and peck typing is great for beginners and people you rarely type on their keyboard. But when you start typing on your keyboard a lot, then this typing method only slows you down. There are other typing techniques that are much faster.

If you want to learn one – I recommend you touch typing technique. I made a whole series of articles to help people like you who want to learn this skill. I’m sure that you will find great value there.

I recommend you start with the article about all the basics that you should know. It will tell you everything you need to start your journey with learning touch typing. Here is my article – ARTICLE ABOUT BASICS OF TOUCH TYPING

How do you stop hunt and peck typing and change to another method?

When you start aiming for typing speed you definitely need a better method. Hunt and peck typing will only slow you down.

There are quite a few methods of typing. Some are accidental, some are like hunt and peck typing, and some are designed for better speed (not always working). How can you choose between them? What is a good typing method that’s right for you?

I will not tell you about all the different methods and techniques. I will give you the one technique that’s very reliable (I use it myself). It can be challenging to learn by yourself but if you have the right resources, you’ll be good to go.

What’s the answer then? How to stop hunt and peck typing?

Hunt and peck is a bad typing method when it comes to speed and will slow you down. To change it you need to learn another typing method. The most reliable and fast one is touch typing. It may seem hard to learn at first but with the right resources, you can definitely do it.

I’ve said something about those resources. What are they?

Don’t worry, I will not leave you without a clear idea of where to go next to learn touch typing. I made a whole series of articles just for this reason. To help you and many others to learn touch typing technique. The skill that I love.

The first article that I recommend you to start with is the one about the basics of touch typing. It will give you a general idea about this skill and all the information that you need before even starting to learn touch typing. Here’s the article – ARTICLE ABOUT TOUCH TYPING BASICS

I’m sure you will see value in those articles. I know how hard it can be to find good information about touch typing, I’ve been there. That’s why I give you all of that to make the learning of this skill much more effective and enjoyable.

You can also take a look at my touch typing course. I’ve put there my whole experience and knowledge of what works best. You can read more details here – MY TOUCH TYPING COURSE