How to Type on a Computer Keyboard Without Looking

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Learn these tricks to touch-type quickly & accurately

Co-authored by Luigi Oppido and Hunter Rising

Last Updated: February 25, 2026 Fact Checked

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Finger Placement & Posture

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Learning Touch-Typing

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Typing Exercises

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Improving Speed & Accuracy

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Video

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Q&A

Typing without looking at your keyboard (or touch-typing) is a useful skill that increases your speed and makes you more efficient using your computer. While it may take a little while to memorize the keys, you can easily keep your eyes on the screen with practice exercises each day. Keep reading, and we’ll walk you through techniques for typing without looking at the keys, proper finger placement on a keyboard, and improving your speed and accuracy.

Best Ways to Learn How to Type Without Looking

Place your fingers on the home row, and return to the position after reaching for keys.
Look away and shake out your hands when you catch yourself peeking at the keyboard.
Practice typing in the dark so you can’t see the keys.
Cover the keys with a cover or blank stickers to hide the letters.
Do online typing lessons or play typing games.

Section 1 of 4:

Correct Finger Placement & Posture for Typing

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1
Put your left-hand fingers on the keys A, S, D, and F. This is called the “home position” for your right hand. Locate the letters in the middle row of your keyboard. Rest your index finger on the “F,” your middle finger on the “D,” your ring finger on the “S,” and your little finger on the “A.”^{[1]
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- Most keyboards have a small bump on the “F” key so you can feel where to place your index finger without looking.
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Put your right hand fingers on the keys J, K, L, and ; (semicolon). This is the “home position” for the right hand. Rest your index finger on the “J,” your middle finger on the “K,” your ring finger on the “L,” and your little finger on the “;” (semicolon).^{[2]
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- Most keyboards have a raised bump on the “J” key so you can find where to place your index finger without looking down.
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Reach the central keys with your index fingers. Use your index finger whenever you need to use one of the 16 keys in the middle of your keyboard. Whenever you reach for a different key, return your index finger to the F- or J-key on the home row.
- Left index finger keys: 4, 5, R, T, G, V, B
- Right index finger keys: 6, 7, Y, U, H, N, M
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Hit the next 2 columns of keys with your middle and ring fingers. Your middle and ring fingers are each only responsible for keys in a single column. After typing a key, bring your fingers back to their position on the home row.
- Left middle finger keys: 3, E, C
- Left ring finger keys: 2, W, X
- Right middle finger keys: 8, I, K, comma (,)
- Right ring finger keys: 9, O, period (.)
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Reach the outer keys with your pinkies. Your pinkies reach the most keys on your keyboard, and they are mainly punctuation marks and special functions. After typing a key, bring your pinkies back to the A or semicolon keys.
- Left pinkie keys: 1, Q, Z, ~ (tilde), Tab, Caps Lock, Left Shift, Left Ctrl, Left Alt
- Right pinkie keys: 0, P, / (forward slash), - (hyphen), = (equal sign), Backspace, [ (left bracket), ] (right bracket), \ backslash), ‘ (apostrophe), Enter, Right Shift, Right Alt, Right Ctrl
When you have your fingers on the home row, your thumbs naturally rest on the space bar. Whenever you need to put a space between words or letters, use either one of your thumbs to hit the spacebar.
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Sit with good posture whenever you’re at your keyboard. When you’re sitting at your computer, keep your back straight with your upper arms at your sides. Bend your elbows to 90 degrees, keep your wrists straight, and position your keyboard so your hands are in a neutral position.
- Computer and tech specialist Luigi Oppido also recommends using a good ergonomic keyboard to help improve your typing speed and feel comfortable while you’re typing.^{[3]
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  Luigi Oppido
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Section 2 of 4:

Techniques for Learning Touch-Typing

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1
Keep your fingers in the home row position. The home row acts as a reference point so you don’t have to look down to check where your fingers are resting. Any time you sit down to type, get in the habit of placing your fingers on the center row of keys. Whenever you reach for a letter, return to the home row before typing the next one.
- Most keyboards have small bumps or notches on the F- and J-keys so you can quickly feel where to place your index fingers.
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Picture the key locations in your head while looking at the screen. Take a quick look at your keyboard layout and try to memorize where each key is located. When you’re actively typing, take a second to imagine the key’s position and then reach for it with the correct finger. Do your best to keep your eyes on your screen.
- With a bit of practice, remembering where the keys are located will become ingrained in your memory.
- If you accidentally type the wrong key, delete it and try again without looking. Then, type that letter a few times in a row to help you memorize it.
- Most computers let you display an on-screen keyboard so you can see the layout without looking down.^{[4]
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  - For Windows, press Windows key + Ctrl + O.^{[5]
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  - For Mac, open System Settings → Accessibility → Keyboard and turn the Accessibility Keyboard setting on.^{[6]
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3
Look away and reposition your hands any time you glance at the keyboard. When you catch yourself looking at your keyboard, stop what you’re doing. Look up at the ceiling or away from your computer, and shake your hands out. Then, place them back on the home row in their proper positions.
- Make sure you look away every time you peek at the keys, even if it’s just a slight glance. After doing it consistently, you’ll train your brain to avoid looking at your keyboard.
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Turn off the lights when you’re typing. Close the blinds and shut off any lights in the room with your computer, and practice typing in the dark. When the only light comes from your computer screen, it’s tougher to see the keys, and it helps you memorize where they’re located.
- If your keys light up when you type, turn off the RGB functions on your keyboard so you can’t see them in the dark.
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Cover the keys to hide the letters. Place a blank cover onto your computer keyboard so you can’t see the letters when you look down. Leave the cover on as you’re typing so you get used to where the letters, numbers, and symbols are positioned. If you’re really stuck and don’t remember where to find a specific key, peek under the cover quickly before putting it back on.^{[7]
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- Alternatively, apply blank key stickers on every key on your keyboard.

Section 3 of 4:

Typing Exercises

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1
Practice typing sentences that contain every letter. If you want to learn where all of the letters are on the keyboard, open a blank document and type out all the letters of the alphabet without looking. Try typing out these sentences a few times with a steady pace and rhythm. Once you can accurately type them without looking, try increasing your speed.
- The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
- Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
- Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs.
- A quirky novel with pages of zany, jumbled lexicon.
- Queen Elizabeth visited Jim Fox camping in New York.
- Crazy Frederick bought many very exquisite opal jewels.
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Take online typing lessons. There are a ton of free sites and resources that help you learn touch-typing. Many typing lessons display the keyboard on screen so you don’t have to look down, and they’re structured to help you learn the keys for each finger. While you’re doing the typing lessons, try to stay focused on your screen so you can catch and correct your errors right away. Some great online typing resources include:
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Play typing games. Typing games usually have you enter specific letters or strings of text to advance through the levels and progress further. If typing lessons feel a little boring, switch over to a typing game to test your skills and even race against your friends. Some of our favorite typing games include:

Section 4 of 4:

Improving Your Typing Speed & Accuracy

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Carve a few minutes out each day where you can focus on a typing lesson or play a typing game to test your skills. The more you type on a keyboard without looking at the keys, the easier it will be to remember where they’re located.^{[8]
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Start slow to focus on pressing the correct keys. Rather than typing in fast bursts, try to maintain a steady pace when you’re typing so you consistently hit the right keys. As you get more familiar with where the keys are located and accurately hit them, your typing speed will naturally increase.^{[9]
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- Looking at your screen instead of your keyboard actually helps you catch your mistakes so you’re able to quickly fix your typos.
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Press the keys lightly. Most keyboards are pretty sensitive and only require a light touch to press them down. Avoid pressing down forcefully because it can slow you down and eventually damage your keyboard over time.
- Limit your finger movement as well, and only use the correct fingers to press the keys. Reaching across your keyboard moves your fingers out of their home positions and could potentially slow you down more.
If you want to calculate your typing speed, take a speed test online. Speed tests usually give you specific strings of words or letters, and your words per minute (WPM) goes down if you make any mistakes. Keep track of how your WPM changes as you learn touch-typing so you can track your progress and see where you need to improve.

Community Q&A

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Question

I type quite fast and accurately looking at the keyboard. But somehow I can't master the 'looking at the screen' typing. Is my method okay to use at professional level?

Community Answer

You can memorize the whole keyboard in your muscle memory (it will take time, so put the effort in). Try to use monkeytype.com.

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