How to Type Numbers and Symbols Without Looking

Plenty of people who type letters without looking still glance down for every number and symbol. It makes sense: those keys sit furthest from the home row and are used far less often, so they get the least practice. They can be learned the same way as the letters, though, and it takes less time than you might expect.

The number row

Each number belongs to the finger that owns the letter column below it. On a standard QWERTY keyboard:

• 1: left little finger (above Q)
• 2: left ring finger (above W)
• 3: left middle finger (above E)
• 4 and 5: left index finger (above R and T)
• 6 and 7: right index finger (above Y and U)
• 8: right middle finger (above I)
• 9: right ring finger (above O)
• 0: right little finger (above P)

The reach is two rows up from home, so it is a bigger stretch than anything on the letter keys. Move the finger, not the whole hand, and bring it straight back to the home row afterwards. The usual cause of number errors is a hand that drifted upward and never came home.

Some people prefer to press 6 with the left index finger. Either works. Choose one and never vary it.

Symbols on the number row

The symbols above the numbers use the same fingers, with Shift held by the little finger of the opposite hand. On a US layout that gives:

• ! @ # $ % with the left hand, right Shift held
• ^ & * ( ) with the right hand, left Shift held

Layouts differ between countries, so the symbol on each key may not match this list. The rule holds everywhere: same finger as the number, opposite Shift.

Punctuation near the home row

The common punctuation marks are close to your right hand:

• Comma and full stop: right middle and ring fingers, one row down.
• Slash and question mark: right little finger, one row down.
• Semicolon and colon: right little finger, on the home row.
• Apostrophe and quotation mark: right little finger, one key to the right.
• Hyphen and equals: right little finger, up on the number row.
• Brackets: right little finger, to the right of P.

The right little finger does a lot of work here. It is the weakest finger, so these keys need more repetition than the rest.

The number pad

If you enter a lot of figures, the number pad on a full-size keyboard is faster than the number row. Its home position is 4, 5 and 6, under your right index, middle and ring fingers. The 5 key has a raised bump so you can find it without looking.

Each finger moves straight up and down its own column: the index finger takes 1, 4 and 7, the middle finger 2, 5 and 8, and the ring finger 3, 6 and 9. The thumb presses 0, and the little finger presses Enter and the plus key. Because the layout is compact and every movement is vertical, most people learn the pad in a few days.

A way to practice

Learn the keys in small groups rather than all at once.

1. Numbers in pairs. Start with 4 and 7, the index fingers' nearest numbers. Type them between home-row letters: f4f j7j. Add 3 and 8, then 2 and 9, then 1 and 0, then 5 and 6.
2. Real number patterns. Move on to things you type in real life: dates, times, prices, phone numbers, postcodes.
3. Symbols with their numbers. Practice each symbol alongside its number, 4 then $, 8 then *, so the finger learns both on one path.
4. Mixed text. Finish with sentences containing numbers and punctuation, such as addresses, recipes or short pieces of code.

Five minutes a day on these keys is enough. Keep your eyes on the screen and go slowly. A wrong guess corrected by feel teaches your finger where the key is. A glance teaches it nothing.

Things that trip people up

• Looking "just for symbols". It keeps the habit of looking alive for everything else.
• Reaching with the wrong hand. Using the left index finger for 7 pulls the hand off the home row.
• One Shift key for everything. It forces a one-handed stretch for half the symbols.
• Tilting the hand upward. Keep your wrist where it is and extend the finger.

Why bother?

Passwords, dates, prices, email addresses and almost all programming depend on these keys. If you type letters at 60 WPM but stop and look for every digit, any text with numbers in it drags your real speed far below your test score. Bringing numbers and symbols up to the level of your letters is often the cheapest improvement left once the alphabet is automatic.