Checking In on Dvorak
It's been about 10 months since I switched to Dvorak. It's been at least six months since I've written about it. In that six months, I have continued to make improvements but I've also noticed an interesting tidbit about my relationship with QWERTY.
First, I'm loving Dvorak. I didn't have RSI issues beforehand but I can tell there's less strain on my fingers now. I have no solid numbers on it but I like knowing I can feel the difference. And given the large amount of time I keep my finger tips on keys every day, I can't help but think this is smart in the long-term.
As for typing speed, I'm still climbing. I'm currently sitting at 118 words a minute. I keep thinking it will plateau but though the rate of increase has slowed significantly, it is still moving upward. I'm guessing it will peak somewhere around 125.
As expected, my QWERTY speed has dropped but lately it's been holding steady at about 40 words a minute. By my standards that's pretty terrible, but considering I rarely use QWERTY and am not trying to maintain it, I'm fine with that number. It's still high enough that I don't appear to be a complete fool when I use it. At least most of the time.
But here's the catch: I can't think about it too hard. If I just type, it works out great no matter which layout I'm on. But if I'm on QWERTY and I try to be intentional about the keys and focus on them, it all comes crumbling down. I have to watch my hands and really work at it.
Overall, I'm still really happy I made the switch. There are some difficulties with being "not normal" but to me it's worth it. I can deal with the slight setbacks for the sake of the benefits.
