From 35–40 WPM to 60+ WPM: A 30‑Day Typing Challenge for Beginners

Most people type more than they realise: assignments, coding, emails, documentation, chat, social media – almost everything on a computer starts with a keyboard. Yet the average adult still types around 35–45 words per minute (WPM), while “fast enough for serious work” usually starts at 60+ WPM. That means a lot of us are working at half speed without noticing it.

The good news: you do not need special talent to double your typing speed. What you need is a short, focused daily routine and a tool that gives you honest feedback.

This 30‑day challenge is designed for anyone who currently types in the 30–45 WPM range and wants to reach 60+ WPM with solid accuracy. You can follow it using Orangetype, a free online typing platform where you can take speed tests, track your history, and see your WPM and accuracy improve over time.

Why 60+ WPM is a game‑changer

Typing‑speed benchmarks show that casual users sit near 35–40 WPM, typical office workers around 40–50 WPM, and skilled typists at 60–80+ WPM. At 40 WPM, typing a 600‑word email or short report takes about 15 minutes; at 70 WPM, the same text takes under 9 minutes. Multiply that by dozens of tasks per week and the time savings become obvious.

Once you stop looking at the keyboard and your fingers follow the keys automatically, your brain is free to focus on ideas, not mechanics. That’s the real benefit of touch typing.

Who this challenge is for

This challenge is ideal if:

1. You type between 30–45 WPM today.
2. You often look at the keyboard or use only a few fingers.
3. You can practice 15–25 minutes per day for one month.

If you’re already above 60 WPM, you can still use this plan but push harder in the later weeks.

Day 0: Measure your starting point

1. Go to Orangetype.in and take three standard typing tests (1–2 minutes each).
2. After each test, note your WPM, accuracy, and how difficult the text felt.
3. Calculate your average WPM and accuracy – this is your Day 0 baseline.

You’ll repeat the same process on Day 30 to see how far you’ve come.

Week 1 (Days 1–7): Technique reset

The goal of Week 1 is to fix bad habits: looking down, using too few fingers, and hammering the keys.

Daily routine (15–20 minutes)

1. Warm‑up (5 minutes) – Take an easy test on Orangetype and type slowly, aiming for almost perfect accuracy.
2. Home‑row drills (5–10 minutes) – Focus on correct finger placement and common letter patterns like “th”, “he”, “st”, “ing”.
3. Short test (3–5 minutes) – One 1‑minute test where you focus on accuracy above 95%, even if WPM drops a bit.

On Day 7, repeat three baseline tests and compare. Most people see a small bump in accuracy once they stop hunting and pecking.

Week 2 (Days 8–14): Accuracy and rhythm

Now you build a smooth rhythm and keep accuracy high while gently increasing speed.

Daily routine (20 minutes)

1. Warm‑up: one easy test focusing on relaxed hands.
2. Focused drills: practice the keys and punctuation that give you trouble by using custom texts in Orangetype.
3. Speed test: one or two 1‑minute tests at your natural pace, trying to beat last week’s WPM without dropping below 95% accuracy.

By the end of Week 2 many learners see a 5–10 WPM improvement compared with Day 0.

Week 3 (Days 15–21): Controlled speed pushes

Here you start going beyond your comfort zone in short bursts.

Daily routine (20–25 minutes)

1. Warm‑up: one comfortable test.
2. Speed sprints: 4–6 short tests of 30–45 seconds each, alternating between “max speed” attempts (accepting 90–93% accuracy) and controlled runs (aiming for 95–97%).
3. One longer mixed‑difficulty test (2 minutes) to practise staying relaxed while typing faster.

On Day 21, measure again. It’s common to see peak scores approaching or crossing 60 WPM at this stage, even if your average is slightly lower.

Week 4 (Days 22–30): Stabilise your new speed

The final week turns your new peak speed into your “normal” working speed.

Daily routine (20–25 minutes)

1. Warm‑up: one easy test with near‑perfect accuracy.
2. Real‑world texts: paste real material (emails, essays, code comments) into Orangetype and practise at your new pace.
3. Final block: every couple of days, run three 1‑minute tests back‑to‑back and watch how even your worst result rises.

On Day 30, repeat the three‑test baseline and compare with Day 0. If you’ve been consistent, moving from 35–40 WPM to around 55–65+ WPM with similar or better accuracy is a realistic outcome.

After the challenge

Typing is like fitness: if you stop completely, you’ll lose some sharpness. Keep 2–3 short Orangetype sessions per week, occasionally push your limits, and slowly introduce new challenges like numbers, symbols, or different languages.

Your keyboard hasn’t changed – but the way your brain and fingers work together has. That’s the power of a focused 30‑day typing challenge.