Many factors influence the decrease in typing speed during tests, but not when practicing. These causes or factors are easily identifiable because your keyboard is the same and so are your hands or fingers. The only difference is that a test feels more serious and on the other hand, practicing is your own time to hone your typing skills. Hence, keep on reading to learn more about why your typing speed drops during tests but not practice.
Typing Speed Dropping During Tests but Not Practice: Reasons for Typing Speed Fluctuation
One of the main reasons why your typing speed decreases during tests but not while practicing is because of the psychological pressure of needing to prove oneself. There is also anxiety, fatigue and soreness, besides many other factors. During practice, we are not afraid to make mistakes, but when it’s time for a test, we often want to do our best, which decreases typing speed immensely.
So, what are all the factors that make typing speed drop during tests but not during practice? Without further ado, here are all of the common reasons why your typing speed drops during tests but not practice:
1. Letting the Mental Pressure Get to You
The first and most common reason why your typing speed drops during tests but not practice is letting the psychological pressure of sitting for a test get to you. It is normal to feel a lot of pressure to do well on a test of any kind, like a typing test in this case. But the biggest mistake is letting that mental pressure get to you and weigh you down, resulting in your typing speed dropping when you need it to help you. Instead, let the mental pressure be a good thing, which can motivate you to do better while still maintaining your typing speed and accuracy.
2. Aiming for Fast Progress Over Accuracy
The second and most common reason why your typing speed drops during tests but not practice is that you’re aiming for quick progress over the accuracy of your skill. When you focus too much on getting the task done rather than getting the task right, it affects your accuracy immensely. For this reason, your typing speed drops during tests but not practice, since you’re focusing on faster progress and not perfection. Not only that, but focusing too much on progress also affects your brain’s ability to process information, resulting in a drop in typing speed.
3. Using the Wrong Keyboard Typing Method
The third and most common reason why your typing speed drops during tests but not practice is that you’re using the wrong method to type on your keyboard in general. There are two common ways to use a keyboard and those include the two-finger or “hunt and peck” method and the ten-finger or “touch typing” method. Those who use the two-finger method are often much slower because, with two fingers, you need to press one key at a time to type using a keyboard. But when it comes to touch typing, you are using all ten of your fingers to type by designating your fingers to each of its zones on the keyboard, which increases typing speed and accuracy a lot.
When we are under pressure, we resort to the default method or comfort method that we are used to typing with, which for most people is the two-finger method. But, during a test, if you use the “hunt and peck” method, your typing speed drops astronomically. So, it is better to invest your time and learn the touch typing skill on typeboosters so you can increase your typing speed and efficiency both during tests and during practice. This will stop you from resorting to an inefficient method and dropping your typing speed during tests.
4. Having Incorrect Finger Positioning on Your Keyboard
The fourth and most common reason why your typing speed drops during tests but not practice is that your fingers are positioned incorrectly on your keyboard. Regardless of what method you’re using, if your fingers are positioned incorrectly on your keyboard, your typing speed will drop. As mentioned before, you need to use the touch typing method and for that, your 10 fingers need to be positioned as follows, starting with the left hand: left pointer finger on the “F” key, then each subsequent finger resting on the keys respectively to the left of it – left middle finger on the “D”, ring finger on the “S,” and the pinky finger on the “A” while the left thumb rests on the space bar or hovers right above it.
As for the right hand: right pointer finger is on the “J” key, then again the other fingers rest on the keys respectively to the right of it – right middle finger on the “K,” ring finger on the “L,” and the pinky finger on the “semi-colon” key, while like the left thumb, the right thumb also either rests on the space bar or hovers right above it. If your finger positioning is anything but like this during a test, your typing speed will drop immensely.
5. Not Having the Proper Ergonomic Typing Posture
Last but definitely not the least and most common reason why your typing speed drops during tests but not practice is that you have a poor ergonomic typing posture. Yes, as strange as it sounds, having the wrong typing posture can affect your typing speed a lot. Having a poor posture can lead to fatigue, mental health deterioration and soreness in your fingers, which ultimately results in your typing speed decreasing. If you have a bad posture during tests, it significantly decreases your typing speed and accuracy altogether. So, keep an eye on your posture, make sure that your back is straight and those fingers are not working overtime!
And with that, our list of the common reasons why your typing speed drops during tests but not practice is complete. If you have problems with your typing speed dropping when you take a test, you need to keep all the abovementioned common mistakes in mind. You also need to ensure that you’re confident and don’t let any losses hold you back. So, don’t wait any longer and go take a test on typeboosters today!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my typing speed decrease?
Typing speed can decrease for various reasons, but it’s mostly because of temporary lapses in skill development.Does ADHD affect typing speed?
Yes, ADHD can affect typing speed due to erratic output, resulting in reduced accuracy and increased mistakes.Can you increase typing speed in 2 weeks?
Yes, you can increase your typing speed in two weeks if you consistently practice daily for at least 30 minutes, following proper tests.What factors affect typing speed?
Various factors affect a person’s typing speed, but it’s mostly stamina and concentration that disrupt the speed of typing.Does typing speed decline with age?
Yes, typing speed can decline with age because some people develop fine motor skill issues and mental health issues, which interfere with typing skills.
