🟢 Beginner 8 minbeginner path

10-Key Hand Position and Home Row

Speed on the numeric keypad starts with never looking at your hand. Learn the home row and every other key becomes muscle memory.

Learning objectives

  • Anchor fingers on 4, 5, 6.
  • Use thumb for 0 and pinky for Enter.
  • Type numbers without looking.

Step-by-step

1. Home row

Index on 4, middle on 5, ring on 6. Feel the raised bump on 5 — that's your anchor.

2. Reach up and down

Up: 7, 8, 9 with the same three fingers. Down: 1, 2, 3. Return to home.

3. Thumb + pinky

Thumb hits 0. Right pinky handles Enter and the decimal point (on most layouts).

Real-world workplace examples

Warm-up drill

Type 456 456 456 with your eyes closed. Then 789 789 789. Then 123 123 123.

Practice exercises

Do 3 minutes of the beginner 10-Key drill in the practice tool without looking at your hand.

Key takeaways

  • Anchor fingers on 4, 5, 6.
  • Use thumb for 0 and pinky for Enter.
  • Type numbers without looking.

Lesson complete

Nice work! Continue on to the next lesson.

Related lessons