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Full Course - How to Type 3x Faster

2024-06-04 · Workshop, masterclass or full course · Ali · recording, 50:03 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Tools, apps and tech (also: Health, sleep and habits) · mode: Explanation and tutorial · tags: Sponsor segment present, His own products discussed, His medical past

In a free YouTube release of his Skillshare typing course, Ali teaches how to type faster: shortcuts to fix mistakes, the home position and minimal finger movement, practice on 10FastFingers and Keybr, a keyboard-first habit with Alfred, text snippets, choosing a keyboard and sitting well.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Introduction: the course comes to YouTube free; the Lightmode keyboard brand

  • ★★ Ali says he is the fastest typist he knows, with a record of 158 words per minute, and made a course on typing fast because he kept getting questions about it. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ Ali releases his typing course, a paid Skillshare class recorded a couple of years earlier, on YouTube for free so that more people can improve their typing speed. — 00:00:29 · Skillshare
  • ★★ Ali has launched his own keyboard brand, Lightmode, and its first product, a mechanical keyboard, is now available. — 00:00:29
  • ★ Ali designed the Lightmode products to suit his own preferences and aesthetic, hence the name: he dislikes black RGB colours and prefers things white and clean. — 00:00:58
  • ★ Ali says the first reason to type fast is that it looks cool: the biggest compliment he gets from colleagues and senior doctors in the NHS is about his typing. (playful) — 00:01:27 · NHS

00:01:48 — Why typing speed matters: it looks cool, efficiency, creativity

  • ★★ Typing fast makes Ali more productive: planning and scripting videos and writing his book take a lot of typing, so even 10 or 20 per cent faster typing gives a noticeable gain. — 00:02:46
  • ★★★ Typing fast helps creativity, Ali says: thoughts translate straight onto the computer, so writing becomes a proxy for thinking. — 00:03:15
  • ★★ Ali says a professional typist apparently needs a typing speed of 65 to 75 words per minute. (hedged) — 00:03:39
  • ★★★ Typing speed does not move the needle much for productivity, Ali says: one of the biggest gains is learning to enjoy the journey, while typing speed, keyboard shortcuts and apps are the final 10 per cent. — 00:04:21

00:05:00 — Sponsor read

00:06:12 — The class typing test on 10FastFingers

  • ★★★ The single biggest boost to typing speed from day one, Ali says, is using keyboard shortcuts to correct mistakes. — 00:07:23 · keyboard navigation

00:07:34 — How to instantly boost your typing speed: shortcuts to correct mistakes

  • ★★ Whenever you press Backspace more than twice, Ali says, there is probably a more efficient way to fix the mistake. — 00:08:05
  • ★★★ To delete a mistyped word, Ali uses Option and Backspace on a Mac, or Control and Backspace on Windows, instead of pressing Backspace repeatedly. — 00:08:29 · keyboard navigation
  • ★★ On a Mac, Command and Backspace deletes a whole line. — 00:08:52
  • ★★ To fix a mistake earlier in a line, Ali uses Option and the arrow keys to jump word by word, instead of the mouse or holding down an arrow key. — 00:09:58
  • ★★ Shift with the arrow keys highlights text from the keyboard; adding Option highlights whole words one at a time. — 00:10:45
  • ★★ Command with the left or right arrow jumps to the start or end of a line on a Mac; on Windows, Home and End do the same. — 00:11:35

00:12:49 — Finger placement: home position, minimum movement, rollover, accuracy first

  • ★★ Typing courses teach you always to return to the home position, and Ali types with his palms resting on the desk. — 00:13:18
  • ★★ Ali does not use all ten fingers as the best typists do: he broadly types with six fingers and his thumbs, pressing A with his ring finger and using his pinkies only for Shift. — 00:13:47
  • ★★★ Ali's rule of thumb is to use as many fingers as possible and follow the minimum movement principle: move your fingers as little as possible to hit the keys. — 00:14:15
  • ★★ Ali is trying to raise his typing speed to 200 words per minute, which he knows means moving his fingers less and perhaps bringing in his pinkies. — 00:14:53
  • ★★ Ali recommends the rollover technique of pro typists: press the next key before the previous one is released, rolling the fingers across the keys like a pianist. — 00:16:09
  • ★★★ To improve typing speed, Ali advises focusing on accuracy first: speed follows accuracy, while fast but inaccurate typing is harder to correct. — 00:16:55

00:17:10 — Building muscle memory with typing tests

  • ★★ Ali's favourite way to practise typing is the 10FastFingers typing test, which uses the 200 most common English words. — 00:17:10
  • ★★ Since about the age of 13 Ali has tested his typing speed every few weeks; it is not really deliberate practice but a way to benchmark his speed. — 00:18:01
  • ★★ Angus, on Ali's team, went from 60 to 90 words per minute by practising 10 minutes a day on 10FastFingers for about a month, a 50 per cent increase. — 00:18:30 · Angus (general manager)

00:19:08 — Fixing your typing weaknesses with Keybr

  • ★★ Generally in life, Ali says, people excel by focusing on and playing to their strengths rather than improving their weaknesses, as Rafael Nadal does by running around his backhand. — 00:19:32
  • ★ Ali says, from a book he read, that Lionel Messi takes about 80 per cent of his shots with his left foot. — 00:19:32
  • ★★★ Typing improves by working on your weaknesses, Ali says; the best site he has found for this is keybr.com, which recognises the letters you struggle with and drills them. — 00:20:21

00:23:01 — Keyboard shortcuts, a keyboard-first mentality and Alfred

  • ★★★ Ali advises a keyboard-first mentality: whatever can be done with the keyboard, do with the keyboard, which is much more efficient than the mouse, as pro gamers have known for decades. — 00:23:01 · keyboard navigation
  • ★★ Whenever Ali finds himself doing something with the mouse, he asks whether he could have done it with the keyboard instead. — 00:23:54
  • ★★ In most word-processing apps, Command, Option and 1, 2 or 3 create headings one to three, quicker than clicking through the toolbar. — 00:26:05

  • ★★★ Keyboard shortcuts make Ali more productive and efficient at a computer; he calls this "digital fluency", playing your device like an instrument. — 00:26:05

    “I call this digital fluency or playing your device like an instrument.”

  • ★★ A keyboard-first habit also raises typing speed: Ali spends 90 per cent of his computer time on the keyboard, a normal person 90 per cent on the mouse, and the keyboard is much easier to get faster at. — 00:26:34

  • ★★ In most word-processing apps, typing an asterisk and a space starts a bullet point. — 00:27:16
  • ★★ Ali calls Command and W (Control and W on Windows) an underappreciated shortcut: it closes the current window without quitting the app, which Command and Q does. — 00:27:16
  • ★★★ Instead of clicking apps in the dock, Ali opens them with a keyboard launcher such as Alfred, which he prefers, or the Mac's built-in Spotlight. — 00:27:58
  • ★★ Ali hides the dock on his Mac because he never uses it, and opens Alfred with Command and Space. — 00:28:24
  • ★★★ The principle behind keyboard launchers, Ali says, is to minimise the time between thought and action. — 00:28:54 · keyboard navigation
  • ★★ Alfred searches Google for anything typed that is not a web address, which Ali uses for quick searches such as currency conversion. — 00:30:45 · Google
  • ★★ Each keyboard shortcut seems a tiny saving, but done hundreds of times a working day, using Alfred, Spotlight or the Windows key instead of the mouse saves a huge amount of time. — 00:31:46
  • ★★ When Ali catches himself clicking, he googles the keyboard shortcut for the action, such as a new file in Final Cut Pro, and learns it. — 00:33:03 · Final Cut Pro

00:33:31 — Snippets and apps that type for you

  • ★★★ Often the best way to type faster is not to type at all, Ali says: use snippets, such as the text replacement built into macOS, iOS and iPadOS. — 00:33:31
  • ★★ Ali's snippet "!AR", for active recall, pastes the link to his video on studying for exams, so he can answer the many comments asking how to study in three keystrokes. — 00:34:38 · active recall
  • ★★ Ali's snippet "!KB" answers people asking which keyboard he uses with an affiliate link, which has made him a lot of money. — 00:34:38
  • ★★ Snippets help non-creators too, Ali says: a snippet for your email address is useful when making accounts or buying online. — 00:35:16
  • ★★ Ali has snippets for Islamic phrases, such as "IA" for inshallah and a reply to salams, and one that inserts his European VAT number. — 00:36:51
  • ★★★ Ali's rule: whenever he types something more than twice, he makes a snippet for it and never has to type it again. — 00:37:29
  • ★★ TextSniper turns the text in a screenshot of part of the screen into text you can copy and paste; Ali used it a lot at medical school, and many medical students use it. — 00:37:58

00:38:22 — How to choose a keyboard

  • ★★★ The main thing in choosing a keyboard for typing fast, Ali says, is to pick one whose sound and feel you like. — 00:38:22
  • ★★ Ali splits his time between mechanical keyboards and the Apple Magic Keyboard, probably his favourite, on which he set his fastest speed of 157 words per minute; on mechanical keyboards he types around 145 to 150. — 00:39:29
  • ★★ Ali suspects most people type faster on an Apple Magic Keyboard than on a mechanical keyboard, but those who prefer the look and feel of mechanical keyboards should use them. (hedged) — 00:40:09
  • ★★ People Ali knows who use ergonomic keyboards say they help with carpal tunnel syndrome or repetitive strain injury, not with typing faster. — 00:40:55
  • ★★ Ali suggests trying an ergonomic keyboard if you get wrist pain or carpal tunnel syndrome; a split one also stops you crossing hands while learning to type. — 00:41:25
  • ★★★ Ali has only ever used the QWERTY layout: people say Dvorak can be a bit faster, but being able to work on any computer with QWERTY far outweighs a small speed gain. — 00:41:46
  • ★★ Hitting the keys a little harder probably makes you type slightly faster, Ali finds; when he types quietly at night he is a lot slower. (hedged) — 00:42:55
  • ★★★ Ali's keyboard recommendation is the Apple Magic Keyboard, even on Windows, the best he has used; the IQUnix F96 is very nice but very overpriced, and the Keychron K2 is a cheaper option. — 00:43:16

00:43:41 — How to sit properly for comfort and speed

  • ★★ Sitting properly helps typing speed, Ali says, but more importantly it spares you back, neck and shoulder pain. — 00:43:41
  • ★★ Ali takes posture seriously: a Herman Miller posture specialist delivered and set up his chair and told him the right posture. — 00:43:41
  • ★★ Sit with back support, not on a backless stool, and in an open posture like Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, as Ali's personal trainer puts it. — 00:44:10
  • ★★ At the computer Ali aims for as many 90-degree angles as possible: hands resting on the desk at 90 degrees, and hips and knees at 90 degrees. — 00:45:23
  • ★★ Following the Herman Miller specialist, Ali keeps his chair's arms just above the desk; with that and moving about once an hour, he no longer gets the back and shoulder pain he used to. — 00:45:58
  • ★★ Ali passes on what people usually say: a monitor should be straight ahead and slightly down, about 15 degrees below the eyes, so the neck stays neutral; a laptop makes you look down and strains the neck, and he admits his own monitor should be a bit higher. — 00:46:27
  • ★★ You do not need a fancy chair, Ali says, just a good one with back support: sitting bolt upright on the edge of a stool is an energy-demanding posture. — 00:47:39
  • ★★★ Ali calls changing position every half an hour to an hour and moving around the cardinal rule of good posture at a computer; his sit-stand desk lets him switch to standing. — 00:48:09
  • ★★ Ali swears by the Fully standing desk he has had for two years and plans to buy several when he gets an office. — 00:48:38
  • ★★ Ali says his video on typing fast is one of the most popular on his channel, if not the most popular. — 00:49:05

00:49:06 — Final thoughts

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: 10FastFingers · Alfred · Apple Magic Keyboard · keyboard navigation · Keybr · text expansion

Also: People: Angus (general manager) · Leonardo da Vinci · Lionel Messi · Rafael Nadal

Projects: Ali's tech, keyboards and bags product brand

Works: Feel-Good Productivity (book) · Vitruvian Man

Organizations: Brilliant · Fully · Google · Herman Miller · NHS · Skillshare · The Verge

Concepts: active recall · affiliate marketing · deliberate practice · minimal movement principle · rollover technique

Products: Adobe Photoshop · Final Cut Pro · Google Docs · IQUnix F96 · Keychron K2 · Microsoft Excel · Microsoft Word · Notion · QuickTime Player · Razer Pro Type · Safari · Spotlight · TextSniper · World of Warcraft

Also centred on 10FastFingers: How I Manage my Time as a Doctor + YouTuber - 9 Time Management Tips · How I Type REALLY Fast (156 Words per Minute)

Also centred on Alfred: Monthly Favourites #2 - Ali Abdaal · My Favourite Mac Apps - What's on my Macbook Pro · How I Manage my Time as a Doctor + YouTuber - 9 Time Management Tips · My Favourite Mac Apps · What's on my MacBook Pro? · How I Type REALLY Fast (156 Words per Minute) · My Complete Productivity System

Also centred on Apple Magic Keyboard: How I Type INSANELY Fast (160 WPM) - The Best Keyboards for Fast Typing · GAME-CHANGER - NEW iMac Review (M1)

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