Typing at the speed of thought
Typing slow is like running with a parachute strapped to your back. Sure, you're going through the motions, but it's slow, boring, and takes all the enjoyment out of the work.
When you stop to think about the mechanical actions required to convert a sentence in your brain into keystrokes, your mind can't think freely. It becomes harder to enter flow.
My goal: reduce the time between an idea forming in my brain and that idea being captured on screen to zero.
Draft faster, improve faster
When you type quickly, you draft quickly. When you draft quickly, you start editing sooner. When you start editing sooner, you share more work with more people. And the more you share, the more feedback you get, the better your ideas become.
Faster output means more iteration cycles means more opportunities to learn and improve.
How to type faster
Learn touch typing. If you ever look at the keyboard for a key, start here. Your eyes should never leave the screen.
Learn keyboard shortcuts. These shortcuts transform how you work—eliminating the friction between thought and execution.
Text editing shortcuts
Basic text manipulation:
- Command + Z → undo last action
- Command + Shift + Z → redo last undone action
- Command + A → select all text
- Command + B → bold selected text
- Command + I → italicize selected text
- Command + U → underline selected text
Text navigation:
- Option + arrows → move between words
- Command + arrows → jump to start/end of lines
- Shift + arrows → select characters
- Shift + Option + arrows → select words
- Shift + Command + arrows → select to start/end of line
Deleting text:
- Option + backspace → delete a word
- Command + backspace → delete entire line
Advanced:
- Shift + Option + Command + V → paste and match style
If you're hitting backspace more than twice in a row or reaching for your mouse to move the cursor, you should have used a shortcut.
File management shortcuts
Basic:
- Command + Option + Space → open Finder
- Command + Delete → move file to trash
- Command + Shift + Delete → empty trash
Working with files:
- Command + N → new window
- Command + T → new tab
- Command + O → open selected file
- Option + Command + V → cut file (after Command + C)
Web browsing shortcuts
Tab management:
- Command + T → open new tab
- Command + W → close current tab
- Command + Shift + T → reopen closed tab
- Command + 1-9 → switch to specific tab (9 = last tab)
Navigation:
- Command + L → go to address bar
- Command + [ → go back
- Command + ] → go forward
- Command + N → new window
System shortcuts
Window management:
- Command + Tab → switch between apps
- Command + Shift + Tab → switch to previous app
- Command + ~ → switch between windows of same app
- Command + M → minimize window
- Command + Q → quit app
- Command + Option + Escape → force quit
Window tiling (macOS Sequoia):
- Fn + Control + F → fullscreen
- Fn + Control + C → center window
- Fn + Control + Left/Right Arrow → snap to left/right half
- Fn + Control + Up/Down Arrow → snap to top/bottom half
- Fn + Control + Shift + arrows → arrange multiple windows
System actions:
- Command + Space → Spotlight search
- Control + Command + Q → lock screen
- Command + Shift + 3 → screenshot entire screen
- Command + Shift + 4 → screenshot selection
Play typing games. Typeracer, Typist, keybr.com—spend 20 minutes a day improving your speed and accuracy.
Recognize when you're slow. My rule: if I reach for my mouse while writing or designing, it's a sign I should be using a keyboard shortcut instead.
The numbers
The average person types around 40-50 WPM. Professional typists hit 75-80 WPM. Anything over 100 WPM is considered fast.
Once you cross that threshold, something magical happens: your eyes glaze over, muscle memory takes hold, and the distance between your brain and the computer disappears.
Will we always need to type? Maybe not. Dictation tools and AI are improving. But we're not there yet. Until then: type faster.