One day, you might be crushing your typing test with a record-breaking score, and the next day, you will be barely keeping pace with your average score. Nothing would have changed in a single day, as the keyboard is still the same, and your fingers are still attached, yet the results tell a different story. If you have this dilemma, you might be confused about what actually went wrong.
Well, truth be told, typing speed test results may fluctuate, and these fluctuations are not random; they have identifiable causes that, once understood, can help you achieve more consistent performance. Let us take a look at the reasons behind the fluctuation in typing speed test results.
Mental Fatigue
Typing is not a physical activity; it is as much of a mental activity as well. If you are mentally tired, distracted, or multitasking, your brain won’t be able to concentrate and process text quickly as it usually does. This mental slowdown will directly affect your mind-muscle connection and finger movement coordination, leading to more typing mistakes and slower speed.
To avoid getting affected by this, schedule your typing sessions and typing speed tests whenever your mind is fully fresh, ideally in the morning or after a short nap.
Typing Test Difficulty Levels
Not all typing tests are created equal; some are easy, while others are difficult, having complex vocabulary, unusual punctuation, or longer words that require extra attention. If you are randomly taking a speed test, you won’t get to know about the difficulty level of the test. To accurately track your typing performance, you should practice with a standardized text or choose tests with a similar difficulty level so that there is a level playing field, like this one here by TypingTest.co.
Typing Posture and Ergonomics
Your typing posture and ergonomics also play a role in determining your typing speed test results. If you are sitting comfortably on an ergonomic chair with a monitor at the right height, you can easily ace the test. However, if your chair is not comfortable, you have an awkward seating position, or the monitor is at the wrong height, it can make your body tense up and disrupt fluidity, leading to reduced typing speed and poor performance.
Make sure that before typing, you adjust your typing posture by keeping your wrists straight, elbows at 90 degrees, feet on the ground, and the monitor at eye level with an ergonomic chair that supports your shoulders, neck, and back.
Internet Latency
Many might not know, but your internet latency has a role in determining your typing test result. If you are taking the test on a web-based platform, your results can be affected by a slow internet connection because delays in registering keystrokes can create inconsistencies in your final WPM score.
To avoid this issue, make sure that you have a strong and stable internet connection with low latency, test your speed offline, or test your typing speed here that gives the most accurate WPM scores, even on a connection with high latency.
Mood and Motivation
Your emotional state also has an influence on your typing performance, even though you might not realise it. Feeling motivated and confident can lead to high typing speed, fewer typos, and better WPM scores, while stress or frustration can slow you down. Before a typing session, create a positive environment, motivate yourself, and play background music that you enjoy to produce the best results.
Familiarity with the Content of the Test
If the typing test is using familiar words, phrases, or sentences, your muscle memory will kick in, allowing you to type faster. On the other hand, if the typing test has complex words or phrases and sentences from unfamiliar topics, it will require more mental decoding, and your typing speed will decrease. For instance, a medical professional can type “musculoskeletal” much faster than someone seeing it for the first time.
So to avoid getting stunned by unfamiliar and complex texts, mix up your practice so that you can build speed in both familiar and unfamiliar text types.