The Fastest Way to Go From 40 WPM to 70 WPM (7-Week Plan)

Going from 40 WPM to 70 WPM is not a matter of talent. It is a matter of structure. Most typists who plateau at 40–45 WPM aren't lacking ability — they're lacking a specific plan. They practice randomly, repeat the same drills, and wonder why their speed doesn't move.

This seven-week plan is built around how motor skills actually develop: accuracy first, technique second, speed third. If you follow it consistently — 15–20 minutes per day, every day — 70 WPM is achievable for the vast majority of adult learners within seven weeks from a 40 WPM baseline.

Why the 40–70 WPM Range Matters

At 40 WPM, you can type. At 70 WPM, you can work. That's the real difference.

40 WPM is fast enough to write an email, but slow enough that typing still requires conscious effort. You're spending mental energy on the physical act of getting words onto the screen, which leaves less bandwidth for what you're actually trying to say.

At 70 WPM, typing begins to become transparent — your hands keep up with your thoughts often enough that you can focus entirely on content rather than mechanics. For job applications, 70 WPM is also the threshold where typing speed becomes an asset rather than a non-issue. Many administrative, customer service, and data entry roles list 65–70 WPM as their minimum.

The jump from 40 to 70 is roughly a 75% speed increase. That sounds large, but it's achievable in seven weeks because the gains in this range come primarily from technique improvements, not raw practice volume. Small corrections to finger assignments, posture, and accuracy habits produce large speed gains quickly.

Before You Start

Take a baseline test right now. Record your exact WPM and accuracy. You will check back against this number at the end of each week to track progress. Be honest — use a 60-second test on realistic text, not a 15-second sprint on common words.

Also note: if your accuracy is below 92% at your current speed, address that before pushing for more speed. The plan assumes you're making errors at an acceptable rate. Building speed on top of poor accuracy just means making errors faster.

Week 1: Home Row Lockdown

Goal: Type home row keys (ASDF / JKL;) without looking at the keyboard, zero errors.

Daily practice (15 min): Home row only drills. Use a piece of paper to cover your hands if necessary. Do not peek. This week is uncomfortable for almost everyone — the urge to look is strong, especially on unfamiliar key positions. Resist it completely.

Why this matters: The home row is the anchor for all touch typing. Every other key is defined relative to where your fingers rest on ASDF and JKL;. Until your fingers know the home row automatically, no other technique improvement will stick. One week of strict home row focus builds the foundation that everything else is built on.

End-of-week target: Type "asdfghjkl;" combinations for 60 seconds without looking, at any speed, with 100% accuracy.

Week 2: Full Keyboard Map

Goal: Add the top row and bottom row. Begin typing the full alphabet without looking.

Daily practice (15 min): Expand letter drills to all rows. Still prioritize accuracy over speed. Accept that you will be slow — 25–35 WPM is completely normal here, and any speed drop from your baseline is temporary and expected.

Why this matters: Your fingers are building a spatial map of the keyboard. This week is about coverage, not speed. Every letter needs to have a correct finger assignment that your hand executes without looking. The discomfort this week is a sign the rewiring is working.

End-of-week target: Type all 26 letters without looking, maintaining 95%+ accuracy.

Week 3: Common Word Drilling

Goal: Build fluency on the 200 most common English words.

Daily practice (15 min): Practice typing common word lists. The most frequent 200 words in English account for roughly 65% of all written text. When these words become automatic — typed as whole units rather than letter-by-letter — your speed will jump noticeably. The goal is to stop processing "t-h-e" and start processing "the" as a single motor pattern.

What to expect: Speed should start climbing back toward and past your original baseline this week. If you're at 38–45 WPM by the end of Week 3, you're on track.

End-of-week target: Common words should feel natural and fast. Aim for 38–45 WPM.

Week 4: Full Sentence Practice

Goal: String words into sentences smoothly. Work on punctuation and capitalization.

Daily practice (15 min): Type full paragraphs of natural English. Focus on zero errors and smooth, steady rhythm rather than bursts of speed. This is where many typists face their first real test of the accuracy-before-speed principle — resist the urge to race.

The shift key problem: Most typists have weak or inconsistent shift key habits. This week, pay specific attention to using the correct hand for shift (opposite hand to the key being capitalized) and not tensing up at the start of sentences. Capitalization errors are one of the most common accuracy problems at this stage.

End-of-week target: 45–52 WPM at 96% accuracy.

Week 5: Speed Bursts

Goal: Push your ceiling with short, intense drills.

Daily practice (20 min): Alternate between 30-second maximum-effort bursts and 60-second accuracy-focused full passages. The bursts teach your fingers that higher speeds are physically achievable — they temporarily remove the psychological speed ceiling that most typists unconsciously impose on themselves. After a burst, your "normal" speed will feel slower and more controlled than before.

What to expect: Your burst speed will exceed your sustained speed significantly. That gap is normal and will close over time. Focus on the sustained speed as your real benchmark.

End-of-week target: 52–60 WPM in short bursts, 48–55 WPM sustained.

Week 6: Sustained Speed

Goal: Hold 60+ WPM for a full 60-second test.

Daily practice (20 min): Full 60-second and 120-second timed tests. Track your net WPM — gross speed minus error penalty — not just raw speed. A clean 60 WPM is more valuable than a fast-but-sloppy 70 WPM for both real-world use and professional certification.

The accuracy trap: This is the week many typists sacrifice accuracy for speed and then wonder why their net WPM stays flat. Hold the 96% accuracy floor. If you find yourself regularly dropping below it, you're going slightly too fast — back off 5 WPM and let accuracy stabilize before pushing again.

End-of-week target: 60–65 WPM at 96%+ accuracy on a full 60-second test.

Week 7: Final Test Simulation and Certificate Prep

Goal: Hit 70 WPM or above consistently. Qualify for your typing certificate.

Daily practice (20 min): Simulate the certificate test conditions exactly — 60 seconds, full pressure, no pauses, realistic text with punctuation. Track every result. Rest 2–3 minutes between attempts. The goal this week is consistency, not peak performance. You want your floor at 68–70 WPM, not occasional spikes to 75.

What if you're not at 70 yet? If you're at 65–68 WPM after six weeks of solid practice, you're close. Add one more week using the Week 6 format and the gap will close. The final few WPM often require slightly longer to nail down than the earlier gains because you're refining existing speed rather than making large technique corrections.

End-of-week target: 65–75 WPM at 97%+ accuracy. Certificate unlocked.

Tracking Your Progress

Keep a simple log — date, WPM, accuracy — for every timed test you take. Looking at the data over seven weeks shows you that progress is real even when individual sessions feel frustrating. Everyone has bad days where their speed drops. The trendline is what matters, and if you're following the plan consistently, the trendline will be upward.

Start the plan and earn your certificate →